LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– The Lafayette Public Library has a new policy regarding sexually explicit materials. This comes after a board of control meeting Wednesday.

After the vote, children under the age of 18 will not be able to check out books with sexually explicit material, but that’s only if that child’s parents opt into this new policy.

There was chaos at the meeting as the board debated whether or not to restrict books with sexually explicit material to children and teens. The room clashed when Board of Director President Robert Mann put sexual images on the screen while residents spoke about the issue during public comment.

Many people also voiced their disapproval of creating an age-restriction on a wide variety of books that may have sexually explicit contents.

“This is nothing short of censorship,” one woman said. 

“As that policy is currently written, ‘Captain Underpants and the Periloius Plot of Professor Poopy Pants’ could be considered S and M,” another added. 

“So if you’re going to move books around and decide what a child should and should not read, maybe the Bible needs to go ahead and go into the adult content on the third floor,” a third person told the board. 

Many others, includinga 13-year-old girl, also spoke in support of restricting the materials.

“My brother, sister, and I should not be subjected to sexually explicit material while browsing for books and other content in the children’s section of the library,” the teen said. 

Ultimately, the board decided to implement the age restriction, however, parents must opt into the restriction card for their children. Now when parents sign their children up for a library card, they’ll have to choose whether or not they want theri child to have a regular card or a restricted card.