When Congress reconvenes next week, House Republicans are expected to consider a bill that would give the federal government unprecedented power to pressure public schools to remove books and educational materials that recognize transgender people.
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HR 7661 was introduced by Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller and is titled the “Stop Child Sexualization Act,” and its supporters say it is a measure to protect children from inappropriate content. But embedded in the text is language that should alarm educators, librarians, and LGBTQ+ advocates. The bill defines “sexually oriented content” to include anything “related to gender dysphoria or ‘transgenderism.'”
Detractors use the term to dehumanize transgender people as part of an ideology, as opposed to human reality. In fact, the proposed law would mean that even if a book does not contain sexual content, it will be swept away by it. The mere existence of transgender teenagers may be enough.
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Opponents argue that this distinction makes the bill less of an obscenity bill and more of a bill about erasing transgender people from public education.
If enacted, the bill would prohibit schools that receive funds from the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act from using those funds for programs, activities, or materials that fall into prohibited categories. The penalties are severe, and school districts that refuse to comply could lose federal education funding. Critics say that threat alone could prompt widespread pre-emptive censorship for schools already operating on tight budgets.
The scope of this bill extends far beyond library shelves. As The Advocate previously reported, when the House Education and Labor Committee advanced the measure last month, its language was broad enough to affect anti-bullying resources, counseling materials, transgender student support groups, and Gay-Straight Alliance programs if they are part of federally funded school operations.
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The bill exempts standard scientific instruction, major religious texts, and certain approved “classical” works, but defines acceptable literature through narrow, pre-selected canons, such as the great books of the Western world. In other words, Shakespeare is safe, but modern novels about trans high school students may not be.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called the bill a federal culture war weapon disguised as child protection.
“Banning books that reflect our lives and stories is an attack on everyone’s family and freedom,” Ellis said in a statement. “HR 7661 is a massive overreach by Congresswoman Mary Miller and right-wing politicians to impose their narrow agenda on our communities.”
Mr. Miller is no stranger to inflammatory rhetoric. The Illinois Republican has repeatedly come under fire for anti-LGBTQ+ comments, including publicly misgendering Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, who was the first to come out as transgender.
“Books help us understand ourselves and each other, and they help us make our schools, communities, and countries safer, stronger, and more successful. It’s past time to turn the page on the era of book bans,” he said, adding, “LGBTQ Americans belong in schools, libraries, and everywhere.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
