Pennsylvania State Board of Censors
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
State Board of Censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
s was an organization under the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with K-12 and adult educational budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency, its activities are directed by Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, Gerald L. Zahorchak...
responsible for approving, redacting
Redaction
Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent work...
, or banning motion pictures which it considered "sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral", or which might pervert morals.
Organization
The board was composed of three members, which were appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania.Destruction
In 1956 the Supreme Court of PennsylvaniaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.-History:...
ruled the act which created and provided for the board was unconstitutional
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, with respect to the Pennsylvania Constitution
Pennsylvania Constitution
The current Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, most recently revised in 1968, forms the law for the United States Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
, and so revoked the mandate for the board's existence.
See also
- List of Pennsylvania state agencies
- Maryland State Board of CensorsMaryland State Board of CensorsThe Maryland State Board of Censors was a three-member state agency created in 1916 required to view all films to be shown in the state, and decide whether or not the films were "moral and proper." Without approval of the agency, a film could not be legally shown in Maryland...
- British Board of Film Censors
- Indian Film Censor Board