Don’t tell me what my kid can’t read

“It’s one thing for you to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this,’” mother Lindsay Durtschi said. “But if you take it from the library altogether, you’re also telling me that my child can’t read this.”

To prevent overzealous book censorship, Florida parents filed a lawsuit in federal court on May 17 to stop book bans in school libraries in red-leaning Escambia County, Florida. The suit could become a model to challenge unfounded, lopsided bans in other Florida counties and states.

First Amendment Rights

The lawsuit is being brought by moms who simply want their kids exposed to ideas that censors have decreed unsuitable. The suit is facilitated by PEN America and is joined by several writers whose books have been banned, along with publisher Penguin Random House. 

The lawsuit argues that book bans in Escambia county violate the First Amendment by denying parents and students access to information. Citing court precedent, the complaint argues that, while administrators do have some control over what appears in public school libraries, this doesn’t permit official suppression of disfavored ideas.

Because that’s what the book bans center on: ideas (themes, subject matter, views, etc.) that a vocal minority of parents don’t like.

For example, the Escambia County school board voted to remove “And Tango Makes Three,” a story about two male penguins who raise a penguin chick! Nothing in the book contains sexual conduct or a discussion of homosexuality — its removal stems from an ideological response to same sex parents.

To be clear, book bans intend to marginalize people and ideas. “Parents need to take a stand now, lest the censors grow even more emboldened,” said Durtschi, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Broader implications

A different Florida school district pulled 20 of Jodi Picoult’s YA titles from their shelves. One of them was “The Storyteller,” a novel about the Holocaust and the rise of fascism. In an interview with ABC, Picoult says:

“I think it is a small, very vocal group of people who are speaking out. The vast majority of folks in this country know that we should not be banning books, that we should not be restricting what kids are reading. You know, especially at a high school level. I think that unfortunately, the minority is much louder than the majority. And so we all really need to take a stand.”

Stifling education and curiosity, whitewashing history, and not recognizing different family dynamics ultimately hurts children. Censoring school discussion of sex, gender and race stifles the role that public education plays in developing future citizens who are open-minded, empathetic and tolerant.

After all, “our public schools, imperfect as they are, remain the best opportunity we’ve got for a more just and equal society.” —Helen Gym, member, Philadelphia City Council.

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-finalist award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her latest poetry chapbook, Sleepwalker

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