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To: Bill Cassidy
Keep Politicians out of Louisiana libraries
Please stop efforts to censor, relocate and ban books in Louisiana Public Libraries.
It is really obvious that the current campaigns in Louisiana is fueled by Evangelical Christians and are aimed at Gays, Lesbians, Transvestites - in fact anyone whose life styles, and sexual identities differ from theirs. To do so they use the terms "Pornography" and "Pedophilia" I have read seven of the books on one of their lists, and they are nothing of the kind. The books would be of help and comfort to families of or people whose gender does not fit a Christian norm.
Please fight to defend the state's libraries from this threat. If a small group of religious people determine the content of material that we can view, listen to, or read people who's opinions differ from theirs will be isolated and ostracized.
Listen to what librarians suggest, a family card seems a good solution, it returns the responsibility for a child's reading matter to the parent and removes it from the Government.
Why is this important?
If the Government and Christian sects are allowed to censor or remove what we have access to a dangerous precedent will be set.
1. Our access to new ideas will be restricted
2. The Government will take the responsibility for a child's access to information from the parents where it belongs.
3. Where will the next ban be? We already have states that are trying to limit and restrict access to African American history and culture
4. A group or several groups in our country will be marginalized and isolated.
5. There will be a dangerous attack on the First Amendment's guarantee of protection from religious interference in our local government and on our right to freedom of speech.
Please look at book burning and persecutions (Gays, Jews, Catholics, the Mentally or Physically challenged) that happened in Nazi Germany as a warning about what can happen to a society that does not fight against government overreach.