Summary
Rightwing groups across the US are driving a wave of legislation to restrict books in school and public libraries, targeting content deemed “sexually explicit” or “obscene,” often affecting LGBTQ+ and race-related titles.
Texas leads with 31 bills and 538 book bans in the 2023–24 school year.
Proposed laws, like Texas Senate Bill 13, shift book selection power from librarians to parent-led advisory boards.
Critics, including librarians and legal scholars, warn these efforts amount to censorship, risk violating First Amendment rights, and reduce access in underserved communities.
You are not convincing my queer trans ass there is anything worth studying in there to guide people morally. I had that inflicted on me for the first two decades of my life and literally have PTSD from it.
The history can be interesting, and it’s something people accomplished in spite of what is in that book, not because of it.
I’m really sorry you went through that, I hope you can find healing.
I imagine it’s not much, and you don’t have any reason to believe me, but because of it I wouldn’t hesitate in protecting you in these dangerous times.
I believe you, I just think the average person doesn’t realize how damaging the Bible can be, especially taken literally. The use for it as a moral guide has long since been overtaken by philosophies like humanism, the same way that precise brain surgeries have eclipsed the trepanation practiced in the Neolithic.