Petition to Support our Libraries and Stand Against Censorship

Libraries in Parishes across the state are being targeted for censorship by political special interest groups and we need your help to stop them here in St Tammany. 

 

St Tammany Parish is a welcoming community to all and we stand firmly against banning books.  As such we endorse the following statements:

  • We believe that all people in our Parish deserve to see themselves reflected in our library’s collection.
  • We know a large majority of Americans (75%) across the political spectrum oppose book bans.
  • We stand in opposition to special interest groups seeking to limit access or remove books from our libraries. These groups include the St Tammany Parish Library Accountability Project, Citizens for a New Louisiana, and AG Landry. 
  • We believe parents should decide for themselves what their children read and that individuals and groups from our community should not dictate what other parents let their children read or what books are available in our library. 
  • Limiting access to or banning books from public libraries is a slippery slope to government censorship and a violation of our first amendment rights.
  • We hold our library director and our librarians in high regard and trust them to do their jobs.

We are united against book bans and we ask that our Parish President and Council pledge to act to protect the rights of members of our community to access a variety of books, magazines and other media through our public libraries.

Information about what brought this petition about can be found here.

3,115 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Savannah Smith
    signed 2023-02-06 15:53:54 -0600
  • Jennie Gill
    signed 2023-02-06 15:33:55 -0600
  • Debbie Hollis
    signed 2023-02-05 19:38:24 -0600
  • Kristi Dickey
    signed 2023-02-05 14:16:03 -0600
    Let parents decide what books their kids read, not an organization.
  • Mike Eldridge
    signed 2023-02-05 14:14:44 -0600
  • Malik Ellis
    signed 2023-02-05 13:06:33 -0600
  • Morgan L'Hoste
    signed 2023-02-04 13:48:40 -0600
  • Alan Gray
    signed 2023-02-04 12:15:22 -0600
  • Sage Blackledge
    signed 2023-02-04 08:04:12 -0600
  • Terra Jones
    signed 2023-02-04 07:05:31 -0600
  • Kristie Campo
    signed 2023-02-03 21:01:07 -0600
  • Jane Aslam
    signed via 2023-02-03 12:02:02 -0600
  • Aimee Hyatt
    signed 2023-02-03 10:52:11 -0600
  • Ingrid Laurendine
    signed 2023-02-03 10:49:59 -0600
    Banning books stifles progress and empathy … which is exactly the goal. It’s shameful, revisionist, exclusionary, and frightening.
  • Omaina Aziz
    signed 2023-02-03 10:28:03 -0600
  • Rachel Cranna
    signed 2023-02-03 10:27:09 -0600
  • Nicole Ralston
    signed 2023-02-03 08:54:47 -0600
  • Sandra Pecoraro
    signed 2023-02-03 08:52:29 -0600
  • Kaare Egedahl
    signed 2023-02-03 08:21:06 -0600
    I trust and stand by our librarians and libraries as one of the most functional and enriching parts of our government system.
  • Jessica Ringo
    signed 2023-02-03 08:15:04 -0600
  • Taylor Butera
    signed 2023-02-03 08:12:11 -0600
  • Reagan Peters-Roussell
    signed 2023-02-03 07:45:01 -0600
    By banning these books, you are banning our livelihoods, our histories. And to cut funding is to make such a necessary social good disappear not just for everyday folks but for those who need the safe haven, need the easy access to education. And so many libraries offer more than that: friends, free food, free clothing, shelter during storms, etc.
  • Talia Bromberg
    signed 2023-02-03 00:26:55 -0600
  • Susannah LeBlanc
    signed 2023-02-02 23:18:29 -0600
  • Anne Warren
    signed via 2023-02-02 23:17:30 -0600
  • Hana Jeansonne
    signed 2023-02-02 22:50:24 -0600
  • Madison Gable
    signed 2023-02-02 22:17:00 -0600
  • Marcela Spicuzza
    signed 2023-02-02 21:17:53 -0600
  • mckaylee guidry
    signed 2023-02-02 21:05:43 -0600
  • Kayla Reado
    signed 2023-02-02 21:03:39 -0600