Skwim
Veteran Member
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"Sponsored by minister and conservative Republican Rep. Ben Baker, the bill aims to create parental library review boards that would have immense power over what books would be allowed in state-funded libraries.
The elected, five-member panels would take suggestions from the public about what books to ban but ultimately would have control over which books are allowed in libraries. According to the law, any library that violates the law could be completely defunded and any librarians who try to circumvent it could face a $500 fine or up to a year in prison.
Baker added provisions that would allow the boards to remove anything they believe is “age-inappropriate sexual material.”
“This is a shockingly transparent attempt to legalize book banning in the state of Missouri. This act is clearly aimed at empowering small groups of parents to appoint themselves as censors over their state’s public libraries. Books wrestling with sexual themes, books uplifting LGBTQIA+ characters, books addressing issues such as sexual assault—all of these books are potentially on the chopping block if this bill is passed,” said James Tager, deputy director of Free Expression Research and Policy at PEN America, in a statement.
According to an interview with local Missouri news outlet The Springfield News-Leader, Baker wanted to write the bill after reading news reports of "drag queen story hours" that sometimes take place at public libraries.
The newspaper said libraries and public spaces in St. Louis and Kansas City have held these events, apparently enraging the conservative pastor and other religious groups.
“I’m trying to figure out a way for parents to have recourse if something's happened and actually the library board is saying 'Hey, we're OK with this' or even promoting it, which has happened,” Baker claimed.
Baker is well known in the state for pushing religiously backed bills, and last year he caused another firestorm with a bill that would have forced public schools to create Bible-based courses for K-12 students.
Librarians in the state, as well as LGBTQ activists, have come out fiercely against the bill, telling news outlets that it was tantamount to censorship. The drag queen story hours were a way for positive messages about LGBTQ people to be spread amongst young people, according to Shira Berkowitz, a spokeswoman for the LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO.
“We think that visibility is really, really important. Especially in a state where LGBTQ people can still be denied housing or fired because of who they are,” she told The Springfield News-Leader"
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"Sponsored by minister and conservative Republican Rep. Ben Baker, the bill aims to create parental library review boards that would have immense power over what books would be allowed in state-funded libraries.
The elected, five-member panels would take suggestions from the public about what books to ban but ultimately would have control over which books are allowed in libraries. According to the law, any library that violates the law could be completely defunded and any librarians who try to circumvent it could face a $500 fine or up to a year in prison.
Baker added provisions that would allow the boards to remove anything they believe is “age-inappropriate sexual material.”
“This is a shockingly transparent attempt to legalize book banning in the state of Missouri. This act is clearly aimed at empowering small groups of parents to appoint themselves as censors over their state’s public libraries. Books wrestling with sexual themes, books uplifting LGBTQIA+ characters, books addressing issues such as sexual assault—all of these books are potentially on the chopping block if this bill is passed,” said James Tager, deputy director of Free Expression Research and Policy at PEN America, in a statement.
According to an interview with local Missouri news outlet The Springfield News-Leader, Baker wanted to write the bill after reading news reports of "drag queen story hours" that sometimes take place at public libraries.
The newspaper said libraries and public spaces in St. Louis and Kansas City have held these events, apparently enraging the conservative pastor and other religious groups.
“I’m trying to figure out a way for parents to have recourse if something's happened and actually the library board is saying 'Hey, we're OK with this' or even promoting it, which has happened,” Baker claimed.
Baker is well known in the state for pushing religiously backed bills, and last year he caused another firestorm with a bill that would have forced public schools to create Bible-based courses for K-12 students.
Librarians in the state, as well as LGBTQ activists, have come out fiercely against the bill, telling news outlets that it was tantamount to censorship. The drag queen story hours were a way for positive messages about LGBTQ people to be spread amongst young people, according to Shira Berkowitz, a spokeswoman for the LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO.
“We think that visibility is really, really important. Especially in a state where LGBTQ people can still be denied housing or fired because of who they are,” she told The Springfield News-Leader"
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Thoughts?
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