Alabama legislator advocates library purge
Alabama State Representative Gerald Allen has proposed a bill in the Alabama State House which would prohibit public schools, universities, and libraries from purchasing "textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle."

Rep. Allen was quoted by the Birmingham News as saying "I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them." While it can be assumed that Rep. Allen was referring to the offensive material and not homosexuals in general, the Center for Traditional American Values nevertheless reflects on the fact that the United States spent much of the 20th Century engaged in struggles - first in World War II, then in the Cold War - against dictatorial regimes which distinguished themselves by their widespread censorship.

While elementary and high school libraries have long been battlegrounds regarding 'offensive' material, it is disturbing to think that adults - university students, public library users - may have their reading decisions made for them, even in part, by the government. A psychology student, for example, might find the DSM-IV - the American Psychiatric Association's handbook of disease - removed from the library. A Biology student may not be able to read important journals on genetics. Art students may be unable to find a biography of Andy Warhol due to stories about his friends. Film students would be unable to access any number of important films - and of course, students of literature might find their resources cut by large percentages.

It is impossible to overstate the danger to our way of life of proposals like Rep. Allen's and the attitude they represent. Book-burning tactics belong to fascism or communism, not American democracy. The Center for Traditional American Values calls upon the Alabama State House, and any other legislative body in the nation who may be faced with similar bills in the future, to reject out of hand any attempt to gut our nation's libraries and dictate American reading lists.
- posted by Auguste @ 1:23 AM