A “Community Parent and Guardian Review Committee” has been added to the agenda for the November 7th Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting by Supervisor Steve Brandau. Sounds innocent enough? Not at all!
With vague wording and a new, unaccountable board of fifteen members, which take control away from experienced librarians, this resolution must be stopped! They do not even attempt to hide the intentions of this. Gender identity content is specifically called out as prohibited subject matter.
Text from Agenda Item:
The “’Parents Matter’ approach to reviewing age-appropriate children’s books in Fresno County Libraries” or the “Parents Matter Act” requires that the Fresno County Librarian establish procedures to identify and sequester age-inappropriate & gender-identity content currently available in the children’s section of County libraries, including procedures that dictate how material deemed age-inappropriate would only be accessible and available to check out in the presence of a parent or guardian.
The Parents Matter Act creates the “Community Parent and Guardian Review Committee”, a fifteen-person committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors representing members of the community who would be tasked with the review of current and incoming library books and materials intended for children, and determining if those materials contain age-inappropriate content as determined by this resolution and a to-be-established community standards policy. Books and materials identified by the Community Parent and Guardian Review Committee shall be made only accessible and available for check out thereafter in the presence of a parent or guardian. This committee shall commence as soon as bylaws have been drafted by County staff and a minimum of eight members have been appointed.
Get involved! Use your voice to speak out against this LGBTQ+ targeted resolution
1. Join us in attending the board meeting on November 7th at 9:30am at: Fresno County Hall of Records, 2281 Tulare Street, Room 301, Fresno, CA 93721
2. Email the Supervisors. (use the form mailer above) OR even better, write your own, personal message, letting them them know why you oppose book banning and restricting access to library materials.
3. Write letters to the editor at The Fresno Bee.
4. Get your friends, family, and community members involved. Share this page and encourage them to join our advocacy text alerts by texting “advocate” to 559-862-1040.
Banning of this kind of content is moving our county and our area back into a time period of discrimination and hiding. There is no reason to ban books that educate people of any age. Queer identities being long before puberty, without knowledge about what is happening, a youth is scared and feels alone. This leads to negative outcomes such as rejections of authority and even self harm and suicide. Do not condemn our youth to narrowly defined narratives. Allowing access to knowledge is liberating; removing access to knowledge is demoralizing and THAT is what should be banned. I am part of this community, I have a voice. I am part of the LGBTQ+ community. I have a voice. Do not ostracize me from this community by banning books that speak of my life.