HARRISBURG – Sen. Amanda Cappelletti of Delaware & Montgomery Counties is introducing legislation prohibiting book bans in PA. In a co-sponsorship memo, the Democrat says the idea of banning books is a direct contradiction to First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. She says public libraries are places where people should be able to learn about themselves and people who are different from them, not denied access to the diverse perspectives that books offer. Her proposal will require PA’s State Librarian and local libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which says materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. It also would develop a written statement prohibiting libraries from banning books or other materials. Libraries that don’t comply would be denied state funding.
SEN. AMANDA CAPPELLETTI