“Across the country — and right here in New Mexico — we’re seeing a disturbing rise in efforts to ban books from public libraries and schools.
Often, these book banning campaigns target stories by and about LGBTQIA+ individuals, communities of color, and other marginalized voices. Some claim these books personally offend them and believe that, therefore, no one should have access to them.
But banning books doesn’t just silence stories — it silences people. It strips away perspectives that help individuals feel seen, understood, and connected.
Of course, people have every right to express concerns or raise objections about what’s on library shelves. But lately, those concerns have escalated into personal attacks against staff and organized efforts to control what others can read. In the past five years alone, reported threats against library workers have increased by 600% across the nation, with at least 11 bomb threat incidents.
This violence toward public servants and community institutions is unacceptable, and we all have a role to play in ending it.”
Read more about Representative Cates’s forthcoming legislation, co-sponsored by Democrats Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez and Harold Pope, to protect libraries and library staff: in the Santa Fe New Mexican.