“CPSIA’s major provisions went into effect on February 10. The day before, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published guidelines telling thrift stores, as well as other resellers and distributors of used goods, what they could safely keep selling and what they should consider rejecting or subjecting to (expensive) lead testing. Confirming earlier reports, the document advised that only “ordinary” children’s books (that is, made entirely of paper, with no toylike plastic or metal elements) printed after 1985 could be placed in the safe category. Older books were pointedly left off the safe list … Since the law became effective the very next day, there was no time to waste in putting this advice into practice.”

And so overnight who knows how many thousands of books where thrown away?

It appears the bureaucracy decided how the law would be interpreted. This was under the Obama administration. My guess is that bureaucracy under Obama are told to define as broadly as possible.

Never mind how many thousands and thousands of children’s books and old (politically incorrect) textbooks were tossed out.