On Dec. 9, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that’ll prohibit New Jersey public schools and libraries from instituting book bans.
Assembly Bill 3446, also known as the Freedom to Read Act, declares that the “freedom to read is a human right” and prohibits public education school boards and libraries from removing books from their spaces on the basis of “the origin, background, or views of the library material or those contributing to its creation,” per the law’s text. Additionally, librarians would have civil protections against people requesting a book be banned under their auspices. The act also establishes criminal penalties if a librarian goes through with removing a book if it was on the basis of the aforementioned criteria.
As the AP News reports, the legislation also prohibits censorship of any books, even if a member of the public finds a book’s content offensive.
Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s main and largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, was one of the main organizations advocating for this bill. Other organizations such as the National Women’s Law Center, the New Jersey Education Association, and the local and national American Library Association were also part of the effort to pass this legislation, as acknowledged by aedy miller, the Communications Manager for Garden State Equality.
“From the perspective of Garden State Equality, this legislation is crucial because it ensures students, families, and communities have access to diverse, inclusive, and age-appropriate books and learning materials in public schools and libraries,” shared miller. “This act comes at a pivotal moment for the freedom to read; particularly, the freedom to read stories by and about people from marginalized communities.”
There is data to support how vital passing this bill was as documented by the American Library Association. Per their book ban data collection, over 4,200 published works were targeted for censorship in 2023. Books written to express LGBTQ and BIPOC experiences made up 47% of the published works targeted.
This was a massive increase from 2022, which saw over 2,500 challenges to books across the nation.
Additionally, 9 of the top 10 most challenged books from 2023 have LGBTQ content, as the ALA shared on their website.
These book challenges have been predominantly led by conservative activists and far-right organizations such as Moms for Liberty, as GLAAD documents.
New Jersey is no stranger to book ban challenges, as about two years ago residents of Glen Ridge banded together to defeat book challenges to LGBTQ titles in that town’s library.
Supporters of the Freedom to Read Act see the bill as necessary to safeguard against censorship and provide LGBTQ+ youth a way to see themselves represented in published works.
“It is paramount that we protect access to these stories so people of all ages, but particularly marginalized youth, can see themselves in the books they read and allow non-marginalized youth to empathize with those unlike them,” said miller.
LGBTQ+ youth within the state have spoken in favor of the legislation, such as Youth Advocate Bailey E. Asbury who gave supportive testimony.
“I would not have the confidence to speak out on LGBTQ+ and other social issues without books that affirmed my queer identity. Fictional characters teach us right from wrong and show us what it means to be human: vulnerable, brave, emotional, resilient. All of that means teaching us to respect ourselves and each other for who we are.”
