This is the context - an Idaho law that penalizes any library that allows minors access to “inappropriate” content, and lets each child’s parent define what “inappropriate” means. So libraries could be penalized if, for example, a homeschooled Christian child reads a book on biology that mentions evolution or a YA novel with a gay character, and their parents object to it. Or if a liberal parent objects to their child reading the Bible or Quran.
Given the wide scope and uncertain limits of this law, some Idaho libraries are banning minors entirely. As was, I suspect, the goal.
Laws like this are becoming widespread in red states and will likely become federal law with Project 2025.
The United States is becoming a nation where parents’ right to keep their kids stupid and bigoted is more important than children’s right to learn. And if that isn’t a sign of collapse I don’t know what is.
That’s called FREEDOM LIBTARDS!
Literally. That’s why the United States didn’t ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Recognizing the rights of children would have limited the rights of parents to control their children. It would have made parents less free to do whatever they want to their kids. And we can’t have that.
(Edit: also the freedom of states to execute juvenile offenders. Forgot about that. The freedom to kill kids is vital to American culture.)
Well you cant have childeren LEARN things. Then how will you control them later.
For all we know banning something will only get the kids more excited to break the rules.
You know authoritarian regimes always strived to keep the general population dumb. In a nation of illiterate and uneducated people there is less critisism and resistance.
If you arent worried about your democracy yet, now would be a good time to start.
When I was a teenager, my parents signed a permission slip to change my card from a child’s card to an unrestricted adult card because I was there so much and didn’t much care if I read “inappropriate” books. The modern persecution of libraries and censoring of content is absolutely ridiculous. It’s hard enough to get kids to look away from their phones. Now they’re not even allowed to check out a book without their parents.
California has some good rules on the book about this: https://www.scu.edu/library/policies/confidentiality/
AFAIK this applies to minors with a card, too. I have heard that in my city when a librarian gives a minor (I think over age 13?) a card, they make a point of saying, “we will never tell your parents what books you check out” (or something like thay). Obviously federal law trumps this (looking at you, Patriot Act…) but there are some places in this country sorta doing the right thing, which is heartening!
Fucking Republicans.
