Retail Chains Asked to Withdraw Ban on Magic’s Book : AIDS:Led by Hayden, Assembly members express concern about the refusal of the stores to stock the book, titled ‘What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS.’

In a protest organized by Santa Monica Assemblyman Tom Hayden, 16 Democratic lawmakers have asked three of the nation’s largest retail chains to reconsider their decision not to sell Magic Johnson’s book on AIDS prevention.

In a letter mailed this week, the lawmakers said: “Magic Johnson is a global hero and a role model to millions of young people who are vulnerable to the threat of AIDS. It is a matter of life and death that his message be heard.”

The Assembly members also called upon the companies “to reconsider your restrictive policies which can only reduce access to this vital message to many who seriously need it.”

The letter was addressed to top executives of K mart Corp., Wal-Mart and the Walgreen Co. in an effort to clarify the reasons the stores have banned the basketball star’s book.

Johnson, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team and a former Los Angeles Laker, has tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. Profits from the book’s sales are to go to his foundation to fight the disease.

The Assembly members expressed concerns about the refusal of the stores to stock the book, titled “What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS,” noting that it has been endorsed by the American Medical Assn.

In a press release issued Tuesday, Hayden said the ban was ironic because “the chains eagerly sell today’s sexually titillating novels whose suggestive cover art and steamy text conflict with Magic’s message of abstinence.”

Hayden, who is campaigning for the state Senate in a district that straddles the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, said he is seeking “a direct dialogue” with the stores.

Michael Polzin, a spokesman for the Walgreen Co., acknowledged Wednesday that the company received the letter, saying it was the first such legislative protest the chain has received.

Polzin would not comment directly on the protest. He said the company decided in May not to carry Johnson’s book because “we found some of the material to be inappropriate for a neighborhood drugstore” and because it did not meet the firm’s “clean magazine policy.”

Polzin declined to elaborate on the decision by Walgreen, a 1,715-store chain that operates in 29 states. The chain has stores in Northern California but not the Los Angeles area.

Walgreen has guidelines for books and magazines, and it does not carry sexually explicit materials such as Playboy, Polzin said. The stores sell a limited selection of paperback novels, mostly bestsellers and romance novels, he added.

Mary McGeachy, a K mart spokeswoman, could not be reached for comment. However, two months ago she said that although the retailer rejected selling the book in its stores, it is making the book available through its Waldenbooks subsidiary.

“We’re not a bookstore,” she said. “The book is very informative, but it’s also very graphic. It should be available to teen-agers . . . (but not) a 3-year-old while their mother is buying a lawn mower.”

A spokesman for Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, also was unavailable for comment on the letter. But officials have said previously that the chain pulled the book after determining that it is “not in keeping with what our customers tell us they want to read.”