Minnesota is poised to prohibit book bans in schools and public libraries as part of an education bill the House approved Wednesday, the last step before it heads to the governor for his signature.

The law, which would become effective July 1, establishes a so-called “Library Bill of Rights” and states that libraries cannot restrict access to material “because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

Democrats who backed the provision say it’s a necessary step in curbing politicized campaigns against books that focus on multiracial — and especially LGBTQ — experience. Those efforts have become more pronounced as school board politics have become increasingly polarized in the last few years.

  • TheBest@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    6 months ago

    Thank god we have some proactive thinking, although I guess this could be seen as reactionary to the book bans in the south. Don’t really give a fuck about the semantics, this is just awesome either way.

    • ProgrammingSocks
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      6 months ago

      Optics aren’t everything. Of course conservatives are going to twist everything to fit their narrative. That doesn’t mean we can’t do things they don’t like.