During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on censorship, Senator John Kennedy took a bold stand by reading passages from two controversial books that have been banned in some schools. The first book, titled “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” includes a graphic scene depicting anal sex between two boys. Kennedy followed this by reading a passage from the book “Gender Queer” which describes oral sex between two boys. These books were listed by PEN America as the most banned books of the 2021-22 school year.
Senator Kennedy questioned the panelists on who should have the authority to decide which books should be available to kids. He expressed frustration with the lack of a clear answer and stated that it seems like librarians are the only ones making decisions without considering the input of parents. Kennedy emphasized that he is not talking about classic books like “Catcher in the Rye,” but rather explicit books like the ones he read from. He challenged the notion that parents should have no say in what their children have access to.
The hearing, titled “Book Bans: How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature,” was prompted by a spike in book challenges. According to PEN America and the American Library Association, there were over 1,000 requests to ban books in schools and libraries in 2022, the highest number in over 20 years. The titles targeted for banning included classics such as “Brave New World” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as well as books with LGBTQ+ subject matter.
One of the panelists, Max Eden, argued that the term “book ban” is misleading because it includes books that have been challenged but ultimately remained available. He pointed out that the book “The Hate U Give,” labeled as the fifth most banned book by PEN America, was actually found in every school library that was questioned.
Illinois has recently passed a law called the “Right to Read” law, which bans book bans and pulls funding from public libraries that limit or prohibit material for “partisan or doctrinal” reasons. The bill was championed by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who believes that libraries are being targeted by a movement promoting authoritarianism.
During the hearing, Mr. Giannoulias expressed concern about allowing “random parents” to determine what books should be available. He stated that parents should not have the ability to challenge the world view on these issues. However, Senator Lindsey Graham argued that decisions on book selection should be left to local school boards and communities, not the Senate.
The debate over book censorship continues, with Senators like John Kennedy taking a stand against what they perceive as explicit and inappropriate material being made available to children. The hearing shed light on the ongoing tension between the importance of free expression and the need to protect children from potentially harmful content.
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