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.