1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I strongly urge you to vote against HR 7661, HR 2616, HR 8705, and S 4925. I am the steward of a Little Free Library here in Glen Burnie. My library is a place for our community to gather, to find books they otherwise may not have been exposed to, and to create kindness as a default personality characteristic. I am writing you today because I am concerned by recent calls by state and federal legislators to dictate what I read and what I choose for my family to read.  I believe that bills such as these have no place in America and that the Federal Government should not dictate which books children, young adults, and adults are allowed to read. Libraries such as mine, public libraries, and school libraries carry a wide range of reading materials that reflect the lives and experiences of a multitude of Americans. I also understand, as a responsible parent and citizen, that if I find a book to be inappropriate for my family, I have the opportunity to choose a different book from the millions available through our nation's library systems. I support other parents' rights to choose books appropriate for their families. I do not believe that any level of government should dictate or censor the reading materials available to citizens of the United States. The proposed books to ban represent a multitude of real, lived experiences. They help people of all ages to identify carachters within themselves, to receive guidance, and to know they are not alone in this world. This week happens to be Banned Books Week (Oct 4-11). My library is full of only banned books, with the hope that one of my community members can find solace in the fact that they are not alone. That others have experienced the same situations and feelings they also experience. Fewer books on racism, gender, LGBTQ+ lived experiences, civil rights, and inequality negated diverse perspectives and leave our community to believe they are alone and ostracized. This is absolutely unacceptable. I will continue to provide banned/challenged books to my community, no matter the outcome one of these proposed laws. If that means jail time for me, so be it. But I hope it never comes to that — and that’s precisely why your support is imperative.