Democrat lawmakers push 'Freedom to Read Act' to allow graphic, obscene material in schools

TRENTON, NJ — Democratic New Jersey state Senators Andrew Zwicker and M. Teresa Ruiz have introduced legislation known as the "Freedom to Read Act" which reportedly "protects school library media specialists and librarians from harassment," and prohibits what the drafters called "the censorship of library material."

According to the text of the bill, SB 2421 would create an exemption to obscenity laws for teachers and librarians preventing "prosecution under subsection b. (promoting obscene material) that the defendant is a teaching staff member, including a school library media specialist, who is engaged in the performance of the person’s duties," rendering them immune to charges for presenting "any description, narrative account, display, depiction of a specified anatomical area or specified sexual activity contained in, or consisting of, a picture or other representation, publication, sound recording, live performance or film, which by means of posing, composition, format or animated sensual details, emits sensuality with sufficient impact to concentrate prurient interest."

Furthermore, the introduced bill would allow "school library media specialist or any other teaching staff member" cause for a civil lawsuit for any "emotional distress, defamation, libel, slander, damage to reputation, or any other relevant tort, against any person who harasses the school library media specialist or any other teaching staff member" who complies with providing these obscene materials to children.

Opponents of the bill, such as Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, assert that under the proposed law, "teachers & librarians would get a free pass to show obscene material to minors."

Others have suggested a new title for the bill: The "Freedom to Distribute Porn Act."

The bill appears to have been drafted in response to groups of concerned parents demanding that objectively pornographic and overtly sexual materials be removed from school libraries and curricula (such as the books Genderqueer and This Book Is Gay) in many states and jurisdictions. The bill claims that "school library media specialists and librarians have been targeted, harassed, and defamed for providing young people access to library material."

Further, the bill makes the argument that school librarians and educators are more qualified than parents to determine appropriate materials for their children because they "receive extensive professional training that prepares them to develop and curate collections designed to meet the broad and varied interests and needs of their communities and students," as reported by The Daily Caller. 

The bill's advocates have presented the notion that the Democrats who drafted the bill are working to "prevent book banning," when in fact, no group or individuals are seeking to ban any books. Rather, they are seeking the enforcement of existing laws governing the exhibition of obscene materials to minors.

With wide support among New Jersey Democrats who control commanding majorities in both houses of the state legislature, this bill seems destined to pass and be signed into law by Democrat Governor Phil Murphy, who has obtusely opposed the assertion of parental rights in education in other states such as Texas and Virginia.