Far Right Book Bans Across US.

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

9-26-2022

Resolutions in Congress Seek to Condemn Far Right Book Bans Across US.

A pair of resolutions in Congress — one in each chamber of the legislature — seeks to condemn efforts across the country to ban children from accessing books that right-wing parents or community members have improperly deemed to contain objectionable material.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) plans to submit a House version of the resolution, while Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) will submit the Senate version.
The resolutions will highlight__
the problem of book bannings in a democratic society_
but won’t bind state or local governments to take action.

According to Politico, the House resolution will express “concern about the spreading problem of book banning and proliferating threats to freedom of expression in the United States.”

It also “reaffirms the United States’ commitment to supporting writers’ freedom of expression, and the freedom of all Americans to read books without government censorship.”

The measure cites a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Board of Education v. Pico, which stated that school districts are limited in how they can block books from middle and high school libraries, due to students’ First Amendment freedoms.

“The wave of book bans that has swept across our country in recent years is a direct attack on First Amendment rights and should alarm every American who believes that freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar of our democracy.”

Efforts to remove books from schools and public libraries simply because they introduce ideas about diversity or challenge students to think beyond their own lived experience is not only anti-democratic but also a hallmark of authoritarian regimes.

Over the past year, there have been 2,500 instances of policy directives to ban books in libraries and schools across the U.S., according to an analysis from PEN America, an organization that promotes free expression and artistic rights.
These efforts affected at least 1,648 titles from July 2021 to June 2022.

“This rapidly accelerating movement has resulted in more and more students losing access to literature that equips them to meet the challenges and complexities of democratic citizenship,” said Jonathan Friedman, the director of PEN America’s free expression and education programs.

According to an American Library Association report published this month, another 681 demands for book bans across the country have
affected 1,651 titles since 2022 —
an increase from 1,597 titles the year prior.

Subject: Re: Far Right Book Bans Across US. Tue Sep 27, 2022 8:29 am

Temple's mad because he can't read "Little Johnny Chops His Dick Off" anymore. Laugher

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

1-18-2023

Republicans bill would imprison librarians who refuse to pull books about LGBTQ people.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s school librarians face new scrutiny, and even the threat of criminal prosecution, under a new state rule adopted Wednesday that urges them to “err on the side of caution” when selecting books for their campuses.

The rule approved by the State Board of Education stems from a new 2022 state law pushed by Republican leaders. Critics say it will have a “chilling effect” on educators and will allow those with conservative views to dictate what books all Florida students can select at their schools.

Ahead of the board’s vote, Orange County Superintendent Maria Vazquez said Tuesday that her district had pulled three books, from school libraries after reviewing the state’s new training for media specialists required under the new rule.

“Now that we have that,” she said, “the recommendation is those books be pulled.”

If Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the legislation, and the state board want to protect parental rights and freedom “they would support policies and rules that allow parents to put restrictions on their own children while not limiting others,” said Stephana Ferrell, a founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, in a text.

The board’s action “will most certainly limit our students’ freedom to read,” added Ferrell, whose group opposes efforts to restrict or remove books from public schools.

But supporters say the new law, rule and training provide much-needed scrutiny of books in media centers and classrooms and more ways for parents to learn what is on school shelves.

“We have seen time and time again questionable and inappropriate material that has entered our schools,” said Paul Burns, deputy chancellor for educator quality at the Florida Department of Education, at Wednesday’s state board meeting.

He said the new required training for school media specialists will help insure the “appropriateness” of books available in schools.

The board unanimously approved the rule after hearing from about 15 speakers, most representing conservative groups that wanted even stricter prohibitions and who complained the new rule contained a “loophole” that would allow some books with sexual content to be approved because they have literary merit.

Those speakers included a man with the group No Left Turn in Education who said he’d challenged 500 books in Clay County schools, and several members of Moms for Liberty, which had two members on the state panel tapped to help draft the new training. The group has pushed for books to be removed from school libraries across the state.

group argues the training will encourage “self-censorship” among teachers and administrators and limit what books students can access.

“Having a government representative deny someone access to a book to read quietly to themselves because that government representative would feel uncomfortable reading it aloud to a general audience
of all ages is viewpoint censorship,” they wrote.

“Elementary school teaches who have huge libraries, classroom libraries, have just said, ‘OK, I’ll just pack them up and put them away,’” Byrd said. “They’re packing them up, and our babies are not having access to all those books in the classrooms because of this.”
———

Orlando Sentinel

Posts : 2495 Join date : 2017-09-09

oliver clotheshoffe wrote:: Temple's mad because he can't read "Little Johnny Chops His Dick Off" anymore.

... Temple wants anyone to believe that far right Ultra MAGA is tryin control the children by banning books in schools.. Oh, and of course the parents are far right extremists

As usual, the left took their shit too far .. During the covid lock down parents got a good look at what their kids are being taught and the shit hit the fan ...

I don't know and don't give a shit what books the schools are banning ... To me, it's far worse for parents to be labled as domestic terrorists by the FBI for sounding off at school board meetings than any books being banned ... We won't see Temple copy and pasting any articles about that tho

If there's any literature they think the kids are being deprived of, the teachers could recommend the parents get it for them .. Parents have a right to control what their kids are learning....or not ... From what i inderstand, these book bannings are in *school* libraries

Kids don't read books anymore anyway ..
Every one of them has a smart phone with internet... They have their faces glued to that or playing video games .. They don't give a shit about what books they can't read ..

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

1-19-2023
NEWS (USA)

GOP bill would throw librarians in prison if they don’t remove books about sexual or gender identity
The North Dakota lawmaker who introduced the bill called such books "disturbing and disgusting."

North Dakota lawmakers are considering legislation to ban books containing “sexually explicit” content from public libraries.

Under the proposed law, librarians who refuse to remove books containing such content, which includes depictions of “sexual identity” and “gender identity” as well as “sexual preference,” “sexual intercourse,” and “sexual perversion,”
would face 30 days in prison and a $1,500 fine.

The state’s Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee heard arguments over the bill, introduced by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor (R), on Tuesday but did not take a vote.

Lefor claimed that public libraries contain books featuring “disturbing and disgusting” content and argued that a child’s exposure to such content has been associated with addiction,
poor self-esteem, devalued intimacy, increasing divorce rates, unprotected sex among young people, and poor well-being without offering any evidence to support those claims, NBC News reports.

Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library Director Christine Kujawa said that Lefor’s bill and a similar one introduced by state Sen. Todd Beard (R) promote censorship.
The bills, she said, have “been drafted with vague and open-ended language, which leaves the door open for unintended consequences and room for interpretation.”

She said that the bill would even ban a book about two male hamsters that get married in the end. “It’s a cute book,” she said, noting that it would be considered pornography if Lefor’s bill passes.

“Citizens should have the freedom to choose the information they want to access,” she continued, adding that it unreasonable for libraries to monitor their extensive collections for objectionable content.

“In the case of minors, parents are responsible for this, not the government. Not in North Dakota, in the United States, a state and country so rightfully proud of a representative democracy.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota called Lefor’s bill “a blatant attempt at censorship, pure and simple.”

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

1-19-2023

North Dakota Anti-LGBTQ Bill Would Imprison Librarians for Not Removing Books

Republican lawmakers in North Dakota have introduced a bill that would jail librarians for keeping books on their shelves that include images depicting gender identity or sexual orientation.

House Bill 1205, introduced by Republican state Reps. Mike Lefor and Vicky Steiner, would prohibit books at public libraries that include images of sexual activity, including sexual intercourse.

The bill would also ban books that are “sexually explicit,” and includes under that vague terminology any books with images related to gender identity or LGBTQ themes — topics that are not considered “sexually explicit” by most legal definitions.

If the bill were to pass and be enforced as law, librarians would be punished for having such books available.

Any librarian caught in noncompliance with the law would face up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $1,500.

Books that discuss “works of art that…have serious artistic significance,” books that are specifically dedicated to biology, anatomy or physiology, and books used for sexual education classes would be exempt from the rule.

The proposed legislation would only ban books with illustrations of the above-mentioned topics.

House Bill 1205 “would ban from public libraries ALL books that include ANY depiction of gay or trans humans.
Harvard Law School clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo agreed.

“Anything written” about LGBTQ issues or sex “would not be banned,” Caraballo noted. “However, any picture depicting ‘gender identity’ would be banned. This could presumably apply to the trans pride flag on the cover of a book.”

Librarians and LGBTQ advocates have pointed out that the bill amounts to censorship, and that its vague parameters could enable residents to push for bans on titles beyond what the legislation calls for.

Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library Director Christine Kujawa wondered how libraries, with thousands of titles in their collections, could tackle what the bill would require of them.

“The answer is, we can’t and shouldn’t,” Kujawa said during public comments on the bill earlier this week. “Citizens should have the freedom to choose the information they want to access. In the case of minors, parents are responsible for this, not the government.”

The North Dakota Library Association also voiced its disapproval of the bill, saying in a statement that:

We stand opposed to censorship and any effort to coerce belief, suppress opinion, or punish those whose expression does not conform to what is deemed to be orthodox in history, politics, or belief.
The unfettered exchange of ideas is essential to the preservation of a free and democratic society.

The bill is yet another attack on LGBTQ children in the state. Republicans in North Dakota have introduced a slew of proposals this month that would harm LGBTQ children, including legislation that would forbid organizations or groups that receive government aid from using the correct pronouns to refer to trans people, including in school settings.

For children seeking out books with LGBTQ themes, inclusion and representation are significant, LGBTQ advocates say. In some cases, representation can be life-saving, according to Sam Ames, the director of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project.

“Deeply closeted and terrified of what coming out might subject them to,” students who read books with LGBTQ characters or information relevant to their lives “study the evidence that a future for someone like them is possible,” Ames said in an op-ed published in July. “They get to see not only their reflection, but their survival.”

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

1-23-2023

Florida teachers are told to hide books or face felony prosecution.

Book banning by right-wing parents is one thing, but laws that make teachers into felons by having an open classroom library is the stuff of classic dystopian literature.

According to reporting from Popular Information, principals in Manatee County, Florida, were told last week that teachers must secure “unvetted” books in their classroom libraries or face felony prosecution just a week before the start of the state’s annual Literacy Week.

Teachers must hide or cover the books until a librarian—
aka a “media specialist”—approves them.

One Florida teacher turned to Facebook, writing,
"My heart is broken for Florida students today as
I am forced to pack up my classroom library.”

Another 18-year veteran teacher tweeted,
“Receiving notice today that classroom libraries are to be dismantled is a travesty to education, the future of our children, and our nation.”

The policy relates to Republican fascist Gov. Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,”
which was signed into law in March 2022.

According to the law:

“Each book made available to students through a school district library media center or included in a recommended or assigned school or grade-level reading list must be selected by a school district employee who holds a valid educational media specialist certificate, regardless of whether the book is purchased, donated, or otherwise made available to students.”

Teachers are opting to pack up their libraries or hide them from students.

In order for books to get approval, Popular Information reports, the book must be available in the district library and then follow a 21-point list of procedures to get the book back into the classroom.
Teachers are also instructing students not to bring “unvetted” books into the classroom for fear of punishment.

One Manatee County teacher told Popular Information she wasn’t going to follow the rules.

"I'm not taking any books out of my room," the teacher said. "I absolutely refuse."

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