Missouri Republican pushes bill that could jail librarians for handing out 'inappropriate' books

The Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act (HB 2044) was introduced into the Missouri House of Representatives by Rep. Ben Baker (R) on January 8. Baker, who is the former Dean of Students at Ozark Bible Institute and College and is also a minister and missionary.

If the bill passes, library personnel face potential $500 fines and prison terms of up to one year if they “willfully” violate provisions established in the measure. And if this bill becomes law, libraries may lose all of their funding.

And the law raises concerns among organizations that work to defend freedom of expression.

“This is a shockingly transparent attempt to legalize book banning in the state of Missouri,” said James Tager, deputy director of free expression research and policy for PEN America, a nonprofit that works to defend free speech. “This act is clearly aimed at empowering small groups of parents to appoint themselves as censors over their state’s public libraries. Books wrestling with sexual themes, books uplifting LGBTQA+ characters, books addressing issues such as sexual assault — all of these books are potentially on the chopping block if this bill is passed.”