I’m not going to lie. I was jazzed when I saw a headline about Missouri in the Library Journal roundup. Then I saw what it was about. “MO Bill Proposes Parental Review Board for ‘Age-Inappropriate’ Material, Legal Penalties for Noncompliance.”
Sigh. Really?
When the General Assembly convened, Ben Baker, a Republic representative from Neosho, Missouri proposed a bill. The point of this bill is to establish a 5 person parental advisory board for each library. These boards will hold public hearings to determine if specific materials are sexually age-inappropriate. What does this include?
From the bill itself this includes “any description or representation, in any form, of nudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.” This would include material that “appeals to the prurient interest of minors” and “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
The panel will then tell the library to remove said materials. What happens if a librarian ignores them?
- A fine up to $500.
- Up to 1 year in jail.
- The library will lose all state funding.
What about library staff? Or a library board of trustees? They have no say according to this bill.
At this point, the bill has not been assigned to a committee so it may not go anywhere. But when Baker was asked about this he said that he didn’t want to ban books. In an interview with KOAM News, Baker said, “The main thing is, I want to be able to take my kids to a library and make sure they’re in a safe environment, and that they’re not going to be exposed to something that is objectionable material.” He added, “Unfortunately, there are some libraries in the state of Missouri that have done this. And that’s a problem.”
What is this? Drag queen story hour. So according to Baker, draq queens are objectionable material. Dehumanize anyone lately, Baker?
In another interview, this one with the Kansas City Star, he admits that the wording of the bill “needs work.”
But that’s okay. The Missouri Library Association is preparing talking points. Their members are contacting state legislators to express their disgust with this bill. And I bet they’ve worded it all to say what they mean.
If you want to read the whole story, click here. There is also a link to a letter you can send to Baker. So far he’s received just over 6,500 e-mails.
–SueBE
One Writer's Journey 