State senator wants to ban book bans in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Pennsylvania state senator is introducing a bill that would basically ban schools and public libraries from banning books.
As KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano explains, it's the latest skirmish over the books that we and our children get to read.
Banning books is centuries old, but recently there's been an uptick in attempts by some to get school districts and public libraries to remove certain books.
"We are one of the worst states in book banning efforts now. We had 56 attempts to ban over 302 unique titles," says state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, a Montgomery County Democrat.
Cappelletti says it's time to stand up to the book banners, so she's introducing a bill to ban book banning at schools and libraries that receive state dollars.
"Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American independence, home of America's first library originally founded by Ben Franklin. We're protecting a legacy of American freedom to access information and to determine what's right for ourselves and our families," says the state senator.
But Joy Mann, vice chair of Moms for Liberty, Allegheny County chapter, says her group's effort to remove books is focused on age-appropriate school curriculum and school libraries, not public libraries.
"Most of these books are very sexual and graphic in content and nature. There is the book 'Gender Queer' that is a graphic novel that has some very disturbing graphic images of sexual acts, things like that," says Mann.
"There are others that describe in very graphic detail some rapes, incest," she adds.
But Cappelletti says book banning is not the solution because it infringes on others' First Amendment rights – and says what may be inappropriate for one 14-year-old could be appropriate for another.
"If you as a parent don't want your children to access certain books, talk to your librarian. Let them know what's appropriate for you. Work with your child to make sure they are accessing what you think is appropriate books."
"But don't take that opportunity away from another parent to be able to do that," says Cappelletti.
And while much book banning involves recent books on sexuality, race and gender identity, some of the classics are also on the top 100 list of banned books, including:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Holy Bible
"There's this idea that the answer to the potential for one young person to see something too young is to censor that from everybody else. That's just not a workable solution whatsoever," says Jonathan Friedman with PEN America, a national group that defends the right to read all books however offensive.
Friedman says Cappelletti's bill is one of several now in state legislatures.
"Long ago, we decided in the United States that we would be a country of free speech, freedom of expression, liberty, the freedom to read," he says.
Cappelletti says if you feel strongly about this issue, talk to your legislators. She will introduce her bill this fall.