Council refuses to support DINO Rep. Sam Azzinaro's book ban bill
By Steve
Ahlquist for Uprise RI
Representative Azzinaro wants the law to apply to all Rhode
Island libraries. In support of their elected Representative, members of
the Westerly Town Council crafted a resolution in urging passage of
the legislation. In effect, the resolution would be a message telling the House
of Representatives that Westerly residents are in favor of book banning.
At Monday night’s Council
meeting, where the proposed resolution was to be voted on, 21 people who live
or work in Westerly testified against the resolution. Many of those testifying
are people whose work puts them on the front lines protecting America’s fragile
First Amendment freedoms – Librarians.
I could have chosen any one of the 21 defenses, mounted by real Americans, opposing theocratic anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship on a Monday night in Westerly, but town resident Brigitte Hopkins, the executive director of Westerly Library in Wilcox Park, seems appropriate:
“I’m here tonight
to speak in opposition to proposed House Bill H6324, which seeks to amend an
existing Rhode Island general law. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the
library profession, my profession, and a basic right in our democratic society.
Librarians strive to serve the varying interests of every person in their
community. We believe in an individual’s right to read, oppose attempts to ban
books from libraries, and oppose any legislation that infringes upon Westerly
and Rhode Island citizens First Amendment rights. There are materials in
libraries, including public and school libraries, that may not be the right fit
for one person, but a perfect fit for another. This is the beauty of the
library.
“Everyone has a
right to find materials on our shelves in which they can experience other
places, times, and people, but also to find themselves. In 1990, Dr. Rudine
Sims Bishop coined the phrase “windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors” to
explain how children see themselves in books and how they can learn about the
lives of others through literature. When books don’t serve as mirrors to
children, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in society.
Books can also serve as windows that give readers a glimpse into the lives and
experiences of others, and librarians have the critical task of making sure our
young community members have access to books that serve as both windows and
mirrors. It is the responsibility of public libraries to guarantee and facilitate
access to all expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity, including
those which some individuals in our community may consider to be
unconventional, unpopular, or unacceptable.
“Please note that
public libraries do not take on the role of a parent, and it is a parent’s
responsibility to decide what materials they will allow their own children to
read. No one individual or group should make sweeping decisions that take that
process of careful consideration away from the experts, the librarians, and
that choice away from readers. As this legislation here in Rhode Island and
around the country attempts to challenge and ban books and criminalize
libraries and library workers, it is critical to know that libraries do not
have obscene materials on their shelves. Obscenity is determined by the court
of law. Federal Law, US Code Title 18 section one. Chapter 71, prohibits the
possession with intent to sell or distribute obscenity, to sendm ship or
receive obscenity, to import obscenity, and to transport obscenity across state
borders for purposes of distribution. Therefore, libraries cannot purchase
obscenity on the open market and thus cannot have it on their shelves. And
publishers cannot sell obscene materials to anyone, including libraries.
“We guarantee that
there are zero obscene books on the shelves of any library in Rhode Island, and
this bill implies that we do, which I find offensive.“
Sadly, four people spoke in favor of the resolution, perhaps not realizing that when you start the tiny snowball of censorship rolling, it soon turns into an avalanche that destroys everything.
The Westerly Town
Council debated the resolution, and briefly considered amending it to oppose,
rather than support the passage of Representative Azzinaro’s bill, but
ultimately the Council simply voted 4-2 to send the resolution to the trash
bin. One town council member abstained.*
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