Minnesota Just Passed a Law Making It Illegal for Libraries to Ban LGBTQ+ Books
Clay Masters/AP Photo
As states across the country attempt to prevent students from accessing LGBTQ+ literature, a new law in Minnesota will keep queer books on the shelves.
Last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a new law banning K-12 schools, colleges, and public libraries from complying with removal requests “based solely on the viewpoint, content, message, idea, or opinion conveyed,” per its text. State File 3567, requires that all decisions regarding what materials to stock be overseen by “a licensed library media specialist, an individual with a master’s degree in library sciences or library and information sciences, or a professional librarian or person with extensive library collection management experience,” according to the state House website.
Upon approving SF 3567, Walz affirmed that “censorship has no place in our libraries.” “As a former teacher, I’m clear: We need to remember our history, not erase it,” the Democrat said in a May 17 post on X.
Walz had previously expressed support for the legislation, versions of which have already been enacted in California, Illinois, and Maryland. When SF 3567 was first introduced in March, the governor criticized GOP-led states for limiting the ability of students to access LGBTQ+ materials.
“Those who have asked for book bans have never been on the right side of history, they have never been viewed as being the folks that were the heroes of freedom, they have never been viewed as the people that were looking out for others,” he told Minnesota Public Radio. “Trying to tell someone else’s children that they can’t read The Hobbit, or whatever it might be, you’re in the wrong.”
The new law coincides with increasing Republican restrictions on educational materials throughout the country. To date, 15 states have statutes on the books limiting the teaching of LGBTQ+ subjects in schools, whether through “Don’t Say Gay” or “No Promo Homo”-style legislation.
Some GOP-led states have gone even further. Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law, House Bill 900, requiring all vendors operating in Texas to institute MPAA-esque ratings regarding the sexual content of their books before placing them on the shelves. A federal appeals court, however, barred the Lone Star State from enforcing HB 900 after booksellers sued, alleging the law infringed upon their First Amendment rights.
After Florida passed a law regulating “inappropriate content” in schools, reports claimed that teachers were being forced to remove virtually all books from their classroom libraries. Although Gov. Ron DeSantis said the claims were a “hoax,” nearly 700 books have been removed from Orange County schools, according to an NPR report.
The American Library Association estimates that, in 2023, more than 4,200 book titles were targeted for censorship in schools and libraries across the country.
But in a time of increasing right-wing hostility toward the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people, Minnesota has continually stood for equality. Last year, the state passed a “shield law” preventing courts from complying with subpoena requests in cases where a trans youth and their family travel out of state to receive gender-affirming health care. At the time of publication, 25 states restrict the types of treatment that can be offered to trans minors, most recently South Carolina.
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