A bill introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly seeks to prevent censorship in the state’s public and school libraries and immunize librarians from civil and criminal liability stemming from challenges to library materials.
The so-called “Don’t Ban Library Books” act was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Sen. Ceci Maher (D-Wilton). At a Thursday press conference at the state Capitol, Duff said the bill comes at a time of rising challenges to library materials across the country, particularly those items concerning “race, gender identity and sexuality.”
“Proponents of banning books use the excuse of protecting children from lewd material, but this is a cover to ban freedom of thought, endangering tolerance and weakening democracy,” Duff said.
Duff and Maher were joined at the press conference by Ellen Paul, executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium, and Melissa Combs, founder of the LGBTQ+ student advocacy group Out Accountability Project.
Paul said that in 2023, there were more than 100 challenges to materials in Connecticut libraries in communities including Old Lyme, Suffield, Colchester, Guilford and more.
“Most of the objections cite children or young adult books with words, ideas or themes that make some people uncomfortable,” Paul said. “But it is never the librarian’s job to dictate what people read, only to ensure equitable access to information for all.”
“A book challenge is not simply a person expressing a point of view,” Paul said. “It is an objection to the inclusion of that title in a library. It is an attempt to remove a book from a library or restrict its location, effectively censoring access to that book’s words and ideas to an entire community.”
Combs said parents already have the ability to control what their own children read.
“What we don’t have is the right to deny access to books to everyone, to dictate what children who aren’t our own are reading and learning, or to force trained, experienced librarians out of their jobs because we don’t agree with their skilled review of materials in a library collection,” Combs said.
The bill is not without controversy. After a post this month by the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok targeted the bill, and Duff and Maher by name, the senators said they received threats of violence. Duff played one voicemail message at the press conference.
“You’re a sick piece of [expletive] and I hope somebody walks up to you tonight while you’re walking up to your car and takes the back of your head off,” the caller said.
Duff called the death threats, which he referred to the Capitol Police, “anathema to our democracy.”
“Hatred and intolerance will only sow division and ignorance,” Duff said. “We cannot and will not allow that.”
The bill has been referred to the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.
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