Tell Your Representatives: Vote NO on a National Book Ban!
Call BOTH of your Senators.
Call ONE of the Representatives. Note: only one of these Congressmembers represents you. Find out which one here.
Call script
My name is _____ and my zip code is _____. As a member of Indivisible SF, I am urging you to resist fascism and reject H.R. 7661. The manipulatively titled “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” does nothing to address the real harms facing children such as the widening chasm in funding for education, healthcare, and other support while continuing to ignore gun violence in schools and AI generated child sexual abuse material. One of the core tenets of American values is freedom from the government deciding what we are allowed to read. By tying federal education funding to restrictions on certain books and educational materials, H.R. 7661 pressures schools to remove titles that discuss identity, history, and lived experiences simply because some politicians find them controversial. Reading builds empathy, critical thinking, and civic understanding. Once the government begins deciding which viewpoints are acceptable, we risk losing the principles of democracy this country was founded on.
Background
Denounced by the American Library Association, the manipulatively titled “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” proposes legislation to “amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the use of funds provided under such Act to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes.” In other words, this bill proposes to deprive parents and teachers of the right to decide what is appropriate for children and allow the government to control the development of young minds.
This bill is about more than books – it is about whether young people will grow up in classrooms shaped by political fear instead of free expression. Rather than prosecuting people clearly documented in the perpetration of child sex trafficking, House Republicans are trying to turn the blame on teachers, librarians, and LGBTQ+ people with a national book ban. For instance, any coming-of-age story, memoir, or picture book that includes a character who is transgender or merely questions their gender would be off-limits. This is not incidental – this is the point. Young people who are marginalized – already targets of escalating political attacks from their own government – would be further erased from the books they have access to.
Legal precedents such as the Miller Test and state-level obscenity laws already ensure that there are no inappropriate books on school shelves. H.R. 7661 is not child protection – it is censorship and discrimination that threatens the freedom of all Americans.
Resources and references
Keep track of the status of H.R. 7661
Read more on the ALA’s opposition to the bill
The Authors Guild provides more analysis on why H.R. 7661 is a trap
Read more about how H.R. 7661 is a threat to freedom of expression
Read EveryLibrary’s stance on H.R. 7661
Learn more about how this bill would affect people from the School Library Journal
This Week's US Congressional Call Scripts:
