In January, Missourian Republican Ben Baker proposed an addition to HB 2044 (their state law that details how their libraries are run) seemingly designed especially to give librarians everywhere heart attacks of rage.
It’s called the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act (the proposed stuff is in bold a few pages in), and you can just see where this is trying to go from that title, but let me spell it out for you: libraries would have to make sure kids didn’t have access to age-inappropriate materials, parents would get to decide what that means, and librarians who don’t comply could get fined and jailed (and get their libraries’ funding cancelled).
WHO THOUGHT THIS IS A GOOD IDEA? Oh yeah, a conservative Bible-thumper who’s mad that drag queens are reading stories to children.
Freedom of information access is our first and best defense against totalitarianism and all that other mind control that conservatives say they’re so ready to fight. Libraries are safe places to exercise that right without fear of over-zealous policing. Only when you’re allowed to stretch and feed your curiosity can you truly be free.
These chucklefucks just want to jam their own ideas into kids’ heads until there’s no room for any of that “thinking” nonsense.
And guess what, the library is actually a great place for kids to learn about sex. Books and comics and events with people different than you are discreet ways to get that sort of information if you’re too embarrassed to ask your parents, not convinced your friends know what they’re talking about (they don’t), or not able to access the internet un-monitored. Librarians are trained to be non-judgmental and legally obliged to keep your browsing habits under wraps, so please, please, please ask for anything you need help with even if it feels weird. Our literal job is making that easier for you.
Image from Stitches and Wishes via Tumblr
(We are, however, allowed to smite you if you dog-ear page edges to keep your place. You have been warned and offered a bazillion free bookmarks already.)
In the Before Times, this caused a huge stir, but it died down as COVID arrived to wreck our collective shit. And fortunately, according to the Missouri House of Representatives website, it seems to be back in committee as of May, with no further readings or votes scheduled at this time. However, we can’t assume this type of movement is dead, especially since Tennessee introduced a similar bill in both its House and Senate this year. Those both look to have been killed without coming to vote, but if we let this type of censorship, we really will be taking a giant step forwards towards a literal 1984.
So stay vigilant. Read on. And help the kids do the same.
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