An activists work seems to never be done! And here we go again with another suppression bill. SB 33 is the Senate’s version of a book ban bill. Books should not be banned or removed as classroom materials based on one parent’s complaint. If a parent does not want their child to read a particular book, that parent needs to have a conversation with their child, letting them know why. But one parent does not get to determine what another parent’s child can read. If there are issues, that can be brought to the librarians and schools boards to be worked on locally. A state driven process that ends with our libraries being bare is not needed. This is just one more attempt at chipping away at local control and slowly turning New Hampshire into a police state.
This bill “requires local school districts to adopt and publicly post policies describing materials authorized for use by students in the district and outlining procedures to address complaints alleging that material is harmful or age-inappropriate for use in the district's schools.” Confused? Good. Mission accomplished by the Senate and House Republicans who sponsored this mess, with most being members of Liberty Alliance.
On Wed., April 23rd, there will be a public hearing on SB 33 in the House Education Policy Committee. You are being asked again to go online and register your opposition to this bill:
https://gc.nh.gov/house/committees/remotetestimony/
Fill in your Personal Information
· Select the correct date and committee for the hearing by clicking on it in the Meeting Schedule Calendar (make sure you are on the right week). [Select Bill # and select the date].
· In the drop box below "Select the Committee," select committee.
· In the drop box below "Choose the Bill," select the appropriate time and bill number.
· Select the appropriate option for the "I am" drop box (likely "Member of the Public").
· Fill in the content box under "I'm Representing" with the business, organization, or group you are representing. If you are representing yourself only, write "myself."
· Under the “Indicate Your Position on this Bill,” check the circle stating your position on the bill. “I Oppose this Bill” or “I Support this Bill”
· After filling in all the appropriate drop boxes, click “Submit.”
· After clicking submit, you will be brought to the next page, where you fill in the content boxes with your first and last name, your town, state, and email address.
· Press “Continue.”
· If you wish to speak during the hearing to present your testimony, you need to attend in person at the State House, but you upload your testimony if you cannot attend.
· If you wish to submit testimony on the bill, email the relevant committee and upload the testimony file from your computer.
The other one is HB 273, sponsored by mostly Liberty Alliance members. This will allow parents access to all of their minor child's library records, because what parent wouldn’t already be able to access their MINOR child’s library records? A solution looking for a problem. There will be a hearing on Thurs., April 24th and if you would like to register your opposition click here. Just follow the directions above.
Thank you for taking a few moments to voice your opinion!