You may recall that Arkansas once passed a law threatening school and public librarians with $10,000 fines and up to six years in prison for “distributing” material deemed obscene or “harmful” to minors. This law comes into force on August 1, 2023.
But that’s not enough censorship for Arkansas Sen. Dan Sullivan. He would like nothing better than to completely eliminate the freedom to read. Right Wing Watch surprised Sullivan at the annual conference of the National Association of Christian Legislators this month.
“Libraries are an institution – often like higher education – that is on the far left, and they have been a stronghold of the left wing,” Sullivan told fellow NACL members. “They are the ones who organize the drag queen shows. They are the ones promoting Pride Month. Last year our County Library had huge Pride signs, flags and books; this year they backed down and had very little because we took their money.
Sullivan praised his state’s jailing of librarians, but complained that it didn’t go far enough. After calling libraries “fantastic institutions” that he claimed to “love”, Sullivan called for the destruction of any that do not conform to his way of thinking:
“When we return to session in two years, we will eliminate all funding for public libraries that have the American Library Association in their policy,” Sullivan promised. “We’re going to shoot them because that’s where it’s coming from.”
It’s no surprise that Sullivan was applauded for this plan. Missouri Republicans have already voted to fund all public libraries. Ironically, this confab was held at Liberty University, run for years by a guy who engaged in the kind of behavior that Sullivan and his buddies accuse libraries of promoting, simply because it can be found somewhere in a book.
The American Library Association is not a far left organization. Unless you hate the First Amendment.
#arresting #librarians #isnt #Republicans
