Under the new Freedom to Read Act, all books currently found in public school libraries – no matter their content – will stay; no book may be removed because of its origin, background, material, or views of the author. This means children will have full, unrestricted access to books with graphic sexual content.
Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, says despite what her critics claim, working to keep school library shelves clean is not the same as banning books.
"No one's banning any books," she tells AFN. "Write the book. Print the book. Publish the book. Sell the book. Put the book in the public library."
Her issue is with Democrats pushing content on school kids "that parents can't read at school board meetings, that the average American person is shocked and horrified to see in a library."
As those books are available for purchase and/or in other places, they have not been banned. But that does not mean they belong in public school libraries.
"We're talking about public school libraries and the fact that the majority of children in our schools aren't learning to read," Justice notes. "[That] should be the primary topic where legislation is focused."
She says a good governor knows how to respect local control in order to move their state forward. But instead of leaving the matter to local representatives who represent parents, Governor Phil Murphy (D) has usurped control.
Meanwhile, a growing number of lawsuits are challenging conservative states' restrictions, and the issue may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Many plaintiffs in these lawsuits cite the First Amendment and claim curriculum restrictions based on race, gender identity, and sexual orientation violate the rights of students and educators to express themselves, learn, and instruct.
