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British Law Makes Children's Authors Register in Pedophile Database
The UK has introduced a law that would require children's authors who are planning to visit schools to enter a database of people that may pose a danger to children. The worst part? These literary potential-peds have to cough up approximately 64 euros (approximately $105) to do it.
In protest, a few authors announced they would stop visiting schools at the beginning of next academic year. Among them are Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo and Quentin Blake.
"I've been going into schools as an author for 20 years, and on no occasion have I ever been alone with a child," Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials series, told The Independent. "The idea that I have become more of a threat and I need to be vetted is both ludicrous and insulting. Children have never been in any danger from visiting authors or illustrators, and the idea that they should be is preposterous."
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