1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I write as one of your Episcopalian Christian constituents to urge you to speak out against and to vote against the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” (H.R. 7661) and/or its companion bill S. 4925 if they move beyond their current committee assignments. Both bills purport to protect children and youth from inappropriate material in books, but both amount to nothing more than a censorship ban against proper representation of trans people and their experiences in books. Targets of the legislation would include not only books and media, but also activities such as Pride events or support groups for LGBTQ students and allies. The legislation would impact almost every public school, since almost all of them receive federal funds of some type. The broad language of H.R. 7661 and S. 4925 about keeping sexual content from children, along with the fact that LGBTQ-inclusive content for children has been incorrectly sexualized for decades, could thus be enough to scare schools into removing all LGBTQ materials and programs, not just those about transgender people.  Let’s be clear: There is indeed sexual content that is not appropriate for children (although this varies by age, a nuance the bills do not recognize). But the mere inclusion of trans or other LGBTQ people does not make content sexual, and it is offensive to imply so. These bills are dangerously broad and most likely represent a violation of students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights. You must raise your voice and vote against them.