List of books removed from circulation in school libraries includes well-known authors; legislation comes under fire from publishing industry
Various publishers of the United States They got together and released a joint statement revealing that they are going to court against a law of the Floridawhich allows books to be banned from state school libraries. Writing Stephen King broached the subject this Saturday afternoon, the 31st, on X: “Florida banned 23 of my books. What the f**k?”.
Florida banned 23 of my books.
What the fuck?
—Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 31, 2024
The statement is signed by publishers Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, MacMillan, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks, and refers to House Bill 1069, created by the Florida state legislature.
Publishers Unite Against Florida Book Bans
In the press release, the publishers say that since the law went into effect in July 2023, “hundreds of titles have been banned across the state,” including classics by Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, and works by more recent authors such as Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, and Judy Blume. The The Diary of Anne Frank It would be on the list.
“HB 1069 requires school librarians to remove books that contain anything that could be viewed as ‘sexual conduct,’ regardless of the educational value of the work as a whole. If a ‘parent or county resident’ objects to a book, the book must be removed within five days and unavailable until the objection is resolved,” the statement reads.
“As publishers committed to protecting free speech and the right to read, the rise of book bans across the country continues to require our collective action. Fighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority. We are standing with educators, librarians, students, authors, and readers—all of whom deserve access to books and stories that showcase diverse perspectives and viewpoints,” she concludes.
What Does the Law Say That Bans Books in Florida?
Among its provisions, HB 1069 “Defines ‘sex’ for the Florida Learning Education Code” and “provides requirements regarding titles and pronouns.”
At one point the legislation specifies: “‘Sex’ means the classification of a person as female or male, based on the organization of the person’s body for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, which naturally generate sex hormones.” , and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”
Another states: “It shall be the policy of every public educational institution authorized and provided for by the Constitution and laws of Florida that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to refer to a person by a pronoun that does not correspond to that person’s sex.”
The current Florida House of Representatives, the state legislature, is overwhelmingly Republican: there are 83 members, compared to 36 Democrats. You can read the entire House Bill 1069 by clicking here.
Source: Terra
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