Federal Bill Targeting LGBTQ Content In Children’s Books Advances As Schools Threatened With Loss of Funding (Again)
“H.R. 7661 is a dangerous bill that steals the power to choose what kids read away from parents, local communities and well-trained educators and librarians, and gives it to politicians in Washington, D.C.” (American Library Association)
Featured Image: (Aaron E. Martinez/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
The modus operandi is familiar: set LGBTQ+ people in the cross-hairs and threaten to withhold federal funding from institutions that don’t step in line with government ideology. Once again, the arrow points toward books.
Federal book ban bill, H.R. 7661 (“Stop the Sexualization of Children Act”) has advanced out of committee and may move forward this week for a vote on the House Floor. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), the bill targets children’s books that contain content that the bill defines as “sexually oriented material.”
Related: Tennessee Librarian Defies Order To Relocate Queer Books From Shelves
While the category is broad, and does not specifically say that all LGBTQ content is banned, the wording is widely seen as potentially, and dangerously, restrictive. It states that “sexually oriented material” includes “any depiction, description, or simulation of sexually explicit conduct” as well as content that “involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism.”
Rep. Mary Miller, the bill’s champion, has previously expressed a desire to “win the hearts and minds of our children.” She’s also known for having looked to Hitler for inspiration: On January 5, 2021, at a U.S. Capitol “Save the Republic” rally, Miller is on record for saying: “Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.’”
Multiple longstanding, respected institutions and publishers have weighed in—from Penguin Books (which calls the bill “a direct threat to intellectual freedom”) to the National Education Association to media advocacy powerhouse GLAAD.
Last month, the Authors Guild issued an Action Alert, noting that H.R. 7661 would “curtail K-12 students’ access to books and violate the free speech rights of parents and students throughout the country.” They noted that “the bill’s sponsors claim it only targets explicitly sexual material.” But that argument does not hold up, they say, pointing out: “books featuring transgender characters would be barred from federally funded school programs even if they contain no sexually explicit conduct whatsoever. Any coming-of-age story, memoir, or picture book that includes a character who is transgender or merely questions their gender would be off-limits.”
In what the Authors Guild sees as an “attempt to soften the impact,” narrow exemptions are made for ‘classic works of literature’ – specifically, Great Books of the Western World, a 35-year-old collection published by Encyclopaedia Britannica. It should be noted that the Encyclopaedia Britannica was basically the Google of the 1970’s. But really, when is the last time you opened a volume (no disrespect to the publisher or those on the hunt for the 60-volume set on eBay)?
“Classics Every Middle Schooler Should Read” are exempt; as the Guild points out, it’s published by a faith-based homeschool company with a stated mission “to offer explicitly Christian, Bible‑centered curricula for homeschool families.”
‘Classic works of art’ represented in Smarthistory guide to AP are also exempt, despite content that includes Titian’s naked Venus of Urbino.
Such government efforts to dictate (and enforce) ideology give off old Eastern Bloc censorship vibes. Ironic too, given that days ago, Hungarians voted out their authoritarian prime minister, under whom anti-LGBTQ laws were enacted that included a requirement that children’s LGBTQ-themed books to be sold in “closed packaging.”
According to the American Library Association, the majority of Americans (across party lines) oppose book bans in libraries. The ALA issued a statement in response to the March 17 Committee on Education and Workforce hearing:
“H.R. 7661 is a dangerous bill that steals the power to choose what kids read away from parents, local communities and well-trained educators and librarians, and gives it to politicians in Washington, D.C. Congress is not authorized to make decisions about what kids read in school, and it is not allowed to interfere with the rights of states and communities to control their own schools.
To take action: Contact your elected representatives. GLAAD suggests encouraging them to prevent the H.R. 7661 from coming for a vote AND to vote NO if a vote does arise.
