Republicans claim they only want to keep “harmful” material away from children (except for guns, of course) but their new book-banning laws prove they really want to regulate thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be trying to punish librarians and school personnel with ruinous fines and felony jail time merely for having a different philosophy about what reading and other material is suitable for the public.
But, as The Washington Post reported, at least seven states have passed such laws, 12 more considered similar Thought Police crackdowns and half of those are likely to come up again in 2024. In all cases except one, Republicans or Republican-dominated committees introduced the laws.
More from The Post:
Some of the laws impose severe penalties on librarians, who until now were exempted in almost every state from prosecution over obscene material — a carve-out meant to permit accurate lessons in topics such as sex education. All but one of the new laws target schools, while some also target the staff of public libraries and one affects book vendors.
One example is an Arkansas measure that says school and public librarians, as well as teachers, can be imprisoned for up to six years or fined $10,000 if they distribute obscene or harmful texts. It takes effect Aug. 1.
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