House Republicans have introduced a bill to effectively grant the federal government decision-making power over what books make it into the library. Misleadingly called the "Stop the Sexualization of Children Act," H.R. 7661 is a national-level book banning bill that would ban any book that, according to the bill's language, "(ii) involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism." This means any book about a trans person or the trans experience would be banned from every public school in the United States. You can read the full text here.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. If you are represented by one of the members of this committee listed below, they need to hear from you.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, California (CA-3) (Chair) - entering vulnerable election cycle
Rep. Mary E. Miller, Illinois (Vice Chair)
Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, Pennsylvania
Rep. Burgess Owens, Utah
Rep. Michael A. Rulli, Ohio
Rep. James C. Moylan, Guam - entering vulnerable election cycle
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, Pennsylvania - entering vulnerable election cycle
Rep. Mark Harris, North Carolina
Rep. Mark B. Messmer, Indiana
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon, Ranking Member
Rep. Jahana Hayes, Connecticut
Rep. Summer L. Lee, Pennsylvania
Rep. John W. Mannion, New York
Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, Florida
Rep. Alma S. Adams, North Carolina
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Arizona
Call your reps. Tell them they must oppose this bill at every turn. It is egregiously unconstitutional, targets ideas based on ideological disapproval, and misleads parents and the public about the content of children's books. It does nothing to protect kids and will badly harm education. It will tie school material funding into knots and hurt anyone who is a library materials vendor, regardless of content. If you are a bookseller, librarian, or author, tell them your livelihood depends on the next generation of readers. If you are a supporter of free speech, please call your reps and tell them to vote no on HR 7661!
Thank you to @authorsagainstbookbans for the graphics and text in the four blue slides.
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