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The lawsuit alleges a county in the Republican-led state is cracking down on access to books on race and LGBTQ identity.

A writers group and a book publisher in the United States have sued a school district in the southern state of Florida over efforts to restrict the availability of books about race and LGBTQ identity in libraries.

The group PEN America and the publisher Penguin Random House announced the lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that the Escambia County School District and its school board violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution by removing 10 books on race and gender.

In Escambia County, state censors are spiriting books off shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices, Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said in a statement. In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand.

The lawsuit is the latest challenge to a series of conservative laws spearheaded by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, some of which have targeted gay and transgender people as well as critical perspectives on race in the US.

DeSantis, expected to challenge former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican US presidential nomination, has sought to bolster his right-wing credentials among conservative voters.

On Wednesday, DeSantis signed laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, restricting the use of gender-neutral pronouns in schools, and forcing transgender youth to use bathrooms based on the sex they were assigned at birth.

The governor has also championed laws restricting access to books on topics such as LGBTQ rights and Black history, positioning himself as a crusader against wokeness, a term used dismissively by some Republicans to describe issues of race, gender and sexuality.

Campaigns to restrict access to books discussing that subject matter have become increasingly common in Republican-led states across the country, and library groups say that 2022 saw a record number of efforts to ban books.

Democratic politicians have sought to capitalise on those efforts by portraying Republicans as extremists seeking to curtail ideas and lifestyles they disagree with.

Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms, cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes for the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love, Democratic President Joe Biden said in the April video that launched his 2024 re-election campaign.

The acronym MAGA refers to Trumps Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

A February 2022 CBS poll found that more than 80 percent of respondents disagree with efforts to limit access to books that view US history with a critical lens and discuss sensitive issues of race.

The lawsuit in Florida states an art teacher objected to the books and asked for them to be removed. A district committee created to assess the suitability of library books recommended that they be kept in place but was overruled by the district, which then removed them.

The legal complaint alleges that, in every decision Escambia County has taken to remove a book, the school district has sided with a challenger expressing openly discriminatory opinions.

Not only do those removals therefore violate the First Amendment protections for free speech, but they also contradict the Fourteenth Amendment, which prevents discrimination on the basis of race, gender and sexual orientation, the lawsuit argues.

The targeted book removals we are seeing in Escambia County are blatantly unconstitutional attempts to silence and stigmatize, Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs, said in Wednesdays press release.

The government should not foster censorship by proxy, allowing one person to decide what ideas are out of bounds for all.

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Censorship: US publisher sues over Florida book restrictions - Al Jazeera English

The Meridian Library on Cherry Lane is a popular place for residents to find books to check out, and find community resources and activities for all ages. Darin Oswald Idaho Statesman

Tuesday was a good day for freedom in Idaho.

In almost all cases, the forces of censorship far-right candidates whove attempted to take over local library boards took a thumping. Candidates who pledged that public libraries would remain places of free intellectual inquiry triumphed.

Perhaps the most hotly contested races were in Meridian, where there have been efforts to simply disband the district because the library has sex education books and books that make reference to the lives of gay people. Incumbent Destinie Hart, who has pledged to protect free expression, beat challenger Xavier Torres, who had signed the petition to disband the district, by more than a two-to-one margin. The results were essentially identical in the race between incumbent Josh Cummings and challenger David J. Tizekker.

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The pattern repeated at the Ada Community Library board, where anti-censorship candidates Mary Anne Saunders and Sandra Taylor prevailed over candidates who had pledged to govern the library according to conservative ideology.

And the trend of anti-censorship voting held up not just in the Treasure Valley but across much of the state. From North Idaho to eastern Idaho, library trustees committed to freedom generally prevailed.

The one exception was in Kootenai County, where pro-censorship challengers Tom Hanley and Tim Plass defeated incumbents Regina McCrea and Judy Meyer.

Hanley built his campaign on a lie. He pledged to protect children from the hardcore pornography that is available to children in our libraries, as the Coeur dAlene Press reported.

The assertions that libraries are full of porn and inappropriate material are ludicrous. But you can expect Hanley to call books he doesnt like pornography for the purposes of censoring them.

Kootenai County home to perhaps the most extreme faction of the Idaho Republican Party, which has increasingly been willing to link arms with characters like David Reilly is increasingly a pocket where censorship and indoctrination are advancing as freedom recedes.

Reilly has made shocking antisemitic statements, including Judaism is the religion of anti-Christ.

Reilly resigned from his job as a radio host in Pennsylvania after his supportive tweets and footage of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, became public, as the Daily News of Newburyport reported. As the Inlander subsequently reported, four days before the rally, a user later identified in court testimony as Reilly suggested the idea that participants march straight through the commons with torches for the night rally for the purpose of producing propaganda footage. The footage Reilly posted after the rally, with advertisements for another rally the following day, was exactly the kind of propaganda footage discussed in the post.

First, they took over the community college, which is now a shambles, and now the library, which may soon follow.

But the damage has largely been contained to Kootenai. And, given the incessant calls for censorship, calls that became one of the central themes of the last two legislative sessions, thats reason to celebrate.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe and newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser.

CORRECTION: This editorial has been updated to remove an out-of-context quote attributed to David Reilly and to remove an inaccurate statement about Reillys involvement in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Corrected May 17, 2023

This story was originally published May 17, 2023 11:12 AM.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. The editorial board is composed of journalists and community members and is separate from the Statesmans newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Statesman editor Chadd Cripe, opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark and newsroom editors Jim Keyser and Dana Oland.

The editorial board meets weekly and sometimes invites subjects to board meetings to interview them personally to gain a better understanding of the topic. Board members also communicate throughout the week via email to discuss issues and provide input on editorials on topics as they are happening in real time. Editorials are intended to be part of an ongoing civil discussion with the ultimate goal of providing solutions to community problems and making this a better place to live, work and play.

Editorials reflect the collective views of the Statesmans editorial board not just the opinion of one writer. An editorial is a collective opinion based on a group discussion among members of the board members. While the editorial is written by one person, typically the opinion editor, it represents the opinions and viewpoints expressed by members of the editorial board after discussion and research on the topic.

Readers are encouraged to express their thoughts by submitting a letter to the editor. Click on Submit a letter or opinion at idahostatesman.com/opinion.

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Idaho library election results are in. For the most part, freedom prevailed | Opinion - Idaho Statesman

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If you think Democracy Now!s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and fascism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. Today a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means itll go twice as far to support our independent journalism. When Democracy Now! covers war or gun violence, were not brought to you by the weapons manufacturers. When we cover the climate emergency, our reporting isnt sponsored by the oil, gas, coal or nuclear companies. Democracy Now! is funded by you, and thats why were counting on your donation to keep us going. Please give today. Every dollar makes a differencein fact, gets doubled! Thank you so much. -Amy Goodman

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Montana Becomes First State to Ban TikTok, as Rights Groups Warn of Censorship and Sinophobia - Democracy Now!

Guinean press associations on Thursday accused the ruling junta of censorship, in the face of the restriction or blocking of access to news sites and popular social networks, in a tense context of political protest.

They also denounced a raid carried out on Wednesday by gendarmes at Afric Vision in Conakry and the seizure of the transmitters of two radio stations of the press group.

However, the government has denied any involvement in the internet disruptions and an operation against Afric Vision, media said.

The reported actions coincide with a call to demonstrate launched by the opposition. The junta requisitioned the army deployed in the capital on Wednesday.

Guinean Internet users have been complaining since Wednesday about the difficulty or impossibility of accessing information sites or social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or TikTok without a VPN. The issues have been confirmed by internet monitoring service NetBlocks.

The main press organisations, representing televisions, radios, newspapers, and private information sites, castigated in a press release "the liberticidal actions undertaken by the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority against the Guinean media".

They "condemn this censorship, which is a setback for democracy". They announce their decision to no longer participate in the current week of information and communication professions organized by the government.

The influential Guinea Bloggers Association Ablogui spoke in a separate statement of "backward methods that dishonor Guinea".

Government spokesman and telecommunications minister Ousmane Gaoual Diallo denied any involvement by the authorities.

He spoke in front of reporters "about a blackout that is happening everywhere", the Guinenews news site reported. "If the government decides to shut down the internet, it will do so and bear the consequences. However, this is not the case," he said according to Guineanews.

As for Afric Vision, the authorities are waiting for the group to produce elements corroborating its claims, he said. But any media that disturbs the social peace "will be closed without hesitation", he warned.

The opposition had called for demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday. She eventually called off Thursday's protest. Wednesday's appeal was met with little effect in the streets of Conakry, placed under tight control by the army and security forces.

The Forces Vives, a collective of parties and organizations, however, claimed to have paralyzed activity in different sectors of the capital. They accused Colonel Mamady Doumbouya and a number of officials of "murderous madness" and plans to confiscate power.

Guinea has been ruled since 2021 by a junta under the leadership of Colonel Doumbouya. The military agreed under international pressure to make way for elected civilians by the end of 2024, the time to carry out deep reforms, they say.

The junta has arrested a number of opposition leaders and launched legal proceedings against others. It has banned all demonstrations since 2022.

The opposition denounces the authoritarian and exclusive conduct of the country by the junta and calls for the rapid return of civilians.

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Guinea: press associations accuse the junta of censorship - Africanews English

The ACLU of Massachusetts is urging school committee members in Ludlow to reject a proposal that would change how library materials are selected, and who does the selecting.

Elements of the proposed policy raise "numerous legal issues, including free expression, vagueness and discrimination," the group's attorneys said in a letter to the district.

The proposal, first introduced at the school committee meeting on May 9, seeks to weed out "inappropriate materials" from the district's libraries.

"Sexualized content is generally inappropriate and/or unnecessary for minors in school," the proposal says. "However, a school need not show that sexualized content is obscene to show that it is not appropriate or educationally suitable for minor students. Parents/guardians have a wide range of options outside of the District's library system to introduce their child to sexual content they deem age-appropriate for their child."

The proposal, submitted on May 9 by school committee member Jaoa Dias, defines terms including sexual acts, implied sexual acts, intimate parts and implied nudity.

It also gives the school committee decision making powers when acquiring new print and digital materials for the district's libraries.

The ACLU said in its letter to the school committee that the policy, if passed, "would set extremely vague, overbroad and repressive standards for what materials can and cannot be in school libraries, with a particular obsession with any depiction or description of various body parts."

The organization also criticized how the policy would allow for termination of a district employee who fails to follow the policy.

"A kicker in the proposed policy is that apparently people can lose their jobs," the letter said, "not only for not complying with these vague and overbroad terms, they can lose their jobs for not 'prioritiz[ing] the selection of materials which do not contain other sexualized content, even though permitted, such as visual depictions of nude body parts.'"

"How in the world does someone figure out whether or not or the extent to which 'covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state' are or are not encompassed by the ban on 'nude intimate parts?'" the ACLU wrote, quoting the proposal.

The letter included images of male baseball players and ballet dancers, as an example of what could be considered against the policy.

If passed, it could also restrict access to many young adult novels as well as images of religious art.

Ludlow Public Schools already has policies in place that allow parents to challenge materials placed in the district's libraries, and an email system that allows parents to block their children from taking out materials they don't approve.

In the last few years, several Ludlow parents have pushed back on titles in the school library related to puberty. And in 2022, two sets of parents sued the Ludlow School Committee and several school administrators over the districts alleged failure to disclose to parents information about their childrens gender identities.

Dias the school committee member advancing the library proposal appeared to weigh in on the lawsuit last year on Facebook: "Hopefully they named the teacher, administrators, former superintendent and school committee members individually as well. Groomers all!"

Asked over email about this opinion, Dias had no immediate comment.

To the ACLU, the proposed library policy is connected to LGBTQ rights, said Ruth Bourquin, the organization's senior and managing attorney.

"It seems [the policy] may be a not very well-veiled attempt to find a way to suppress literature about LGBTQ experiences and coming of age experiences," Bourquin said. "This policy, we think, is clearly unlawful [and] it's wildly overbroad."

The language of the proposal is almost a verbatim copy of something proposed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bourquin said. She said the district is "renowned for anti-LGBTQ+ bias" and is facing litigation by the ACLU.

Dias declined to discuss the proposal at the May 9 meeting. He also declined comment this week.

"I will be happy to discuss the policy after [next week's] meeting," Dias said in an email.

School committee members will vote on the policy June 6, said Ronald Saloio, another member of the Ludlow School Committee.

"Per school committee policy, the first meeting, the new policy is proposed with no discussion," Saloio said in an email.

Next week, at a meeting on May 23, "the policy will be read and discussed," Saloio said. "[T]here might be changes suggested to the proposed policy at this time."

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ACLU says proposed Ludlow school library policy is vague, form of ... - Connecticut Public