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missouri legislature
'Despicable and Dangerous': Missouri Republicans Vote to Defund State's Public Libraries
"First they ban books, now they go after libraries. What will be next?"
Apr 12, 2023
Literacy and civil liberties defenders on Wednesday excoriated Republican state lawmakers in Missouri after they gave their final approval to a budget that would completely defund the state's public libraries and other essential services.
In addition to cutting the $4.5 million allocated for public libraries in Missouri's $45.6 billion state budget, the final package approved on Tuesday cuts all government support for diversity initiatives, childcare, and pre-kindergarten programs, Heartland Signalreports.
Rep. Cody Smith (R-163), who heads the House Budget Committee, proposed ending state library funding after the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association challenging a bill barring educators from "providing sexually explicit material" to students.
\u201cAfter being sued by Missouri librarians for banning library books, Missouri House Republicans voted to defund all of the state\u2019s public libraries. Their budget also cuts funding for diversity initiatives, childcare, and pre-kindergarten programs.\nhttps://t.co/3y7G27Nqju\u201d— Ibram X. Kendi (@Ibram X. Kendi) 1681303532
According to the Riverfront Times, Missouri schools have banned more than 300 books since the law went into effect. These include works about Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, graphic novel adaptations of Shakespeare and Mark Twain, the Gettysburg Address, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus.
"First they ban books, now they go after libraries," political and digital strategist Nathan Mackenzie Brown tweeted after Tuesday's vote. "What will be next?"
\u201cIn 2019 I was keynote speaker for the Missouri Library Association\u2019s annual conference. Hardworking & dedicated librarians sought to find new ways to support communities well beyond the transaction of borrowing books. This is a travesty - & unconstitutional. Strike this down now!\u201d— Caroline Sharkey, LCSW, PhD (she/they) (@Caroline Sharkey, LCSW, PhD (she/they)) 1681296698
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage called the library defunding "despicable and dangerous."
"I learned to dream and think more expansively in libraries," Nottage tweeted Wednesday. "It was where I went after school while my parents were working."
In a Missouri Independentopinion article published Monday, James Tager, research director at the free expression group PEN America, wrote that "Missouri's new effort to punish libraries is vindictive and harmful."
\u201c"Make no mistake: This amendment enables book banning on a statewide scale" \n\nIn @MO_Independent, PEN America Research Director @JRTtager explains why Missouri's new effort to punish libraries is vindictive and harmful https://t.co/G453lwVS6U #BannedBooks #Libraries #FreeTheBooks\u201d— PEN America (@PEN America) 1681145361
Tager argued the such policies especially harm the "children who lawmakers are claiming to protect by shrinking access to libraries' educational materials and programs."
"The budget proposal is about political power—with children as pawns," he added.
Tager contended that the cuts "will disproportionately hurt economically disadvantaged and rural Missourians," as "libraries typically provide other essential services, including free access to Wi-Fi and computers."
"Local libraries in rural areas are particularly dependent on state funding," he added. "Librarians have already stated that, if this budget passes, they will have to cut back on services, including those that have helped Missouri communities get access to lifesaving health information."
\u201c\ud83e\uddf5 There once was a kid who had to take 3 busses to get home from school. His mom was a single parent who had to work, so she couldn\u2019t pick him up after school. He got home after dark, then his long night of homework began. Long day, long night.\n\n1/4\nhttps://t.co/txJca3Ducb\u201d— Christopher Webb (@Christopher Webb) 1681273366
As the Missouri Senate takes up the House-approved budget, there are signs that public library funding could be saved. Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-30), the body's chief budget writer, has said he plans to restore the $4.5 million in the upper chamber's version of the legislation.
The move by Missouri Republicans to eliminate library funding comes amid a surge in GOP book-banning in schools and libraries across the country.
As Common Dreams reported last month, censorship of books—especially books about the lives and struggles of people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized groups—has reached record highs. According to the American Library Association, 2,571 unique titles were challenged in 2022, a 38% increase from the previous year.
\u201cDems put #PeopleOverPolitics and passed a bipartisan infrastructure law.\n\nWhat are MAGA Republicans focused on? Destroying our public libraries and replacing them with church libraries. Imagine how boring: no Lord of the Rings; no dinosaur stories; no books about Charles Darwin.\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1679620272
At the federal level, congressional Republicans last month introduced the so-called Parents Bill of Rights Act, which would force educators to make classroom curricula publicly available and provide parents with a list of reading materials in school libraries.
"Conservatives have weaponized hate and fear to try to tear our schools apart, with students who just want to learn and thrive turned into pawns in their political games," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said in response to the bill's introduction.
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GOP-Led Missouri House Strips Women Lawmakers of 'Right to Bare Arms' With New Dress Code
"On day one in our Legislature they're doubling down on controlling women," one Democratic state legislator said of her Republican colleagues, noting the abortion ban they enacted last year.
Jan 13, 2023
Missouri state lawmakers can bear arms in the legislative chamber but if they're women, they can no longer show their bare arms under new dress code rules passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Friday.
State Rep. Ann Kelley (R-127) is behind the new regulation, which passed by a 105-51 vote as part of a rules package. Rule 98 states that "at all times when the House is seated, proper attire for gentlemen shall be business attire, including coat, tie, dress trousers, and dress shoes or boots. Proper attire for women shall be business attire, including jackets worn with dresses, skirts, or slacks, and dress shoes or boots."
"Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it's appropriate or not?"
Defending the policy during floor debate on Wednesday, Kelley said: "Men are required to wear a jacket, a shirt, and a tie, correct? And if they walked in here without a tie, they would get gaveled down in a heartbeat. If they walked in without a jacket, they would get gaveled down in a heartbeat. So, we are so interested in being equal."
\u201cMO State Rep. Proudie (D) goes after GOP House members pushing a dress code for women \u2014 requiring they wear jackets \u2014 in a rules bill.\n\n"I spent $1,200 on a suit, and I can't wear it in the People's House because someone who doesn't have the range tells me that's inappropriate."\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1673477291
However, Democratic state lawmakers pushed back against the policy, with Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern (D-15) tweeting that "it is mind-boggling that members of the Missouri House have the right to bear arms on the floor of the chamber, but women legislators are forbidden from showing bare arms."
Rep. Peter Merideth (D-80) refused to vote on the measure, telling colleagues, "I don't think I'm qualified to say what's appropriate or not appropriate for women and I think that is a really dangerous road for us all to go down."
"Y'all had a conniption fit the last two years when we talked about maybe, maybe wearing masks in a pandemic to keep each other safer," he added. "How dare the government tell you what you have to wear over your face?"
Also speaking on the House floor, Rep. Ashley Aune (D-14) asked, "Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it's appropriate or not?"
\u201cWhat the cinnamon toast fuck is going on in Missouri.\n\nRepublicans have proposed a dress code targeting women lawmakers.\n\n555-COME-ON-NOW\n\n'Lost their minds': Missouri Dems cry foul over GOP-proposed dress code for female state lawmakers https://t.co/uAXWbYDePD\u201d— \ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffe Imani Gandy \ud83d\udc46\ud83c\udffe (@\ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffe Imani Gandy \ud83d\udc46\ud83c\udffe) 1673538729
Reacting to the new rule, human rights attorney Qasim Rashid tweeted that "the Missouri GOP banning women from showing their bare arms isn't a sign of Shariah or Taliban—it's a sign of right-wing 'Christian' extremism."
"Stop deflecting extremism in America as something foreign," Rashid added. "It's 100% American. Admit it. Own it. Work to stop it."
Speaking to CNN Friday, Aune noted that "in 2019 House Republicans passed the abortion ban that went into effect this summer after the Dobbs decision came down, fully restricting a women's right to choose in this state, and on day one in our Legislature they're doubling down on controlling women."
Under the state's abortion ban, pregnant Missourians are forced to travel to other states for the medical procedure. Last year, Republican state lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to punish them for doing so via a measure that would have allowed private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" abortions violating Missouri's ban—no matter where they are performed.
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