The message:
If you don't like a book, don't read it – or don't let your kids read it. It's as simple as that.
Locking up librarians isn't the answer.
But a bill making its way through the South Dakota Legislature would do exactly that. House Bill 1239 would criminalize librarians for disseminating materials some consider "harmful to minors."
For so many of us, libraries are portals to other parts of the world, planet, universe, and realms – real or imaginary. For the kids who feel different, lonely, or unloved, the availability of books that center stories of non-dominant communities offers a sound reassurance that they are not alone in this world.
Threatening librarians with jail time for providing access to books will chill intellectual freedom and free speech. House Bill 1239 is nothing more than ideologically driven censorship dressed up as concern for children.
Contact your senator now to ask them to oppose House Bill 1239.
