Vote NO on HR 7661 - Protect Our Right to Read

I write to you as your constituent to demand that you oppose H.R. 7661 and defend the fundamental American right to read. This legislation goes far beyond “parental rights” rhetoric. As drafted, H.R. 7661 invites censorship and risks embedding discriminatory outcomes by targeting and restricting books that reflect diverse identities, cultures, and lived experiences. When book bans disproportionately silence stories about race, gender, religion, or LGBTQ+ communities, that is not neutrality — it is government-sanctioned exclusion. Public schools and libraries are not battlegrounds in a culture war. They are institutions of learning. They exist to expand minds, not narrow them. Framing school libraries as sites of harm rather than centers of knowledge fuels division, erodes trust in educators, and deepens social tensions at a time when this country needs leadership rooted in unity and constitutional principles. Educators, librarians, and local school boards — not politicians in Washington — are best positioned to determine age-appropriate materials. A one-size-fits-all federal mandate undermines professional expertise, overrides local decision-making, and chills intellectual freedom nationwide. That is an overreach of federal power, plain and simple. Reading is not a government privilege. It is a cornerstone of a free society. The freedom to explore ideas — even uncomfortable ones — is protected by the First Amendment and central to the health of our democracy. I urge you in the strongest possible terms: vote NO on H.R. 7661. Protect students. Protect educators. Protect libraries. And above all, protect our right to read.