Oppose Georgia S.B. 74: Removal of Protections for Librarians
Since 1985, librarians have been specifically exempt from Georgia’s “harmful to minors” bill. S.B. 74 is an attempt to strip librarians in all public libraries of those protections and make them subject to investigations and prosecution for distributing “obscene or harmful” materials to children.
Criminalizing librarians will not protect children, but instead will chill access to constitutionally protected speech, undermine public institutions, and invite costly litigation. Similar laws in other states have already been blocked by federal courts for violating the First Amendment.
S.B. 74 does not define any distinctions for age-appropriate materials. If passed, this law would require library workers to know the full content of thousands of books in their own library and possibly in the entire lending library system, an impossible task.
Our libraries must be protected from ideological warfare, indiscriminate investigations, and wasteful prosecutions. Call your representatives and demand they protect librarians and oppose S.B.74
Content for this call topic kindly provided by Indivisible Georgia Coalition.
Contacts for this topic:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP].
I’m calling to ask [REP/SEN NAME] to oppose S.B. 74, which removes important legal protections for librarians and educators. This bill will not keep children safe, but instead will discourage access to constitutionally-protected free speech.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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