Oppose H.R. 5: Turn Back Censorship Efforts
/From the ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Team:
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a dangerous bill that would pave the way to more censorship in school libraries. Please call your Representative today and ask them to vote NO.
The bill is H.R. 5, the so-called “Parents Bill of Rights Act.” While the title might sound good, librarians know not to judge a book by its cover.
H.R. 5 would open the door to more book bans targeting local school libraries. Specifically, it would require schools that receive federal funding to give parents a list of books in their child’s school library and create a process for parents to view them on request.
Obviously, parents should be able to know what is in their kid’s school library. And they already can. This is already standard local practice, and if a parent wants to know more about the school library, they can just ask. We don’t need a federal regulation for this.
But if it became law – especially now, in a climate of unprecedented censorship efforts targeting libraries and schools – H.R. 5 would be weaponized by the people who want to ban even more books.
Tell My Rep to Vote NO on H.R. 5
Let’s be clear: even if the House passes H.R. 5, it’s expected to go right into the shredder in the Senate. Nonetheless, Representatives need to know that any time legislation threatens to expand censorship, library advocates will stand up to oppose it.
Please call your Rep. TODAY – it only takes two minutes and we provide suggested talking points.
P.S. Follow @LibraryPolicy and @UABookBans for further updates.