GOP bill would throw librarians in prison if they don’t remove books about sexual or gender identity

Thousands of books smoulder in a huge bonfire as Germans give the Nazi salute during the wave of book-burnings that spread throughout Germany – 1933
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

North Dakota lawmakers are considering legislation to ban books containing “sexually explicit” content from public libraries. Under the proposed law, librarians who refuse to remove books containing such content, which includes depictions of “sexual identity” and “gender identity” as well as “sexual preference,” “sexual intercourse,” and “sexual perversion,” would face 30 days in prison and a $1,500 fine.

The state’s Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee heard arguments over the bill, introduced by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor (R), on Tuesday but did not take a vote.

Lefor claimed that public libraries contain books featuring “disturbing and disgusting” content and argued that a child’s exposure to such content has been associated with addiction, poor self-esteem, devalued intimacy, increasing divorce rates, unprotected sex among young people, and poor well-being without offering any evidence to support those claims, NBC News reports.

The North Dakota bill is just the latest move by Republican lawmakers across the country to ban books dealing with sexual and gender identity, which they characterize as “sexually explicit,” from libraries. As has been repeatedly noted by opponents of this type of legislation, although all people have sexual and gender identities, these bans often specifically target content dealing with LGBTQ+ characters and issues.

Lefor cited the graphic novel…

Read full story, and more, from Source: GOP bill would throw librarians in prison if they don’t remove books about sexual or gender identity