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POLITICS
Missouri is Defunding Libraries & Denying Gender-Affirming Care to All
Has the state legislature overstepped?
What the hell is going on in Missouri? Defunding libraries and banning gender-affirming care for both adults and minors. This is shit that I expect from Texas or Florida. But Missouri?
Let’s unpack this one issue at a time.
We’ll tackle libraries first. Missouri has a new state law banning sexually explicit material in school libraries. Pretty standard stuff these days. “Concerned” parents and all that. But then the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the law.
That pissed off the Missouri state legislature, both houses of which are controlled by Republicans. The governor, secretary of state, and the attorney general are also Republicans.
So, rather than trying to defend their position on the law, the legislature has decided to retaliate by defunding all of the libraries in the state. This won’t end the libraries because they receive funding from other sources, but it will make it more difficult for libraries in rural parts of the state.
Here’s the interesting part. The American Library Association commissioned a poll to get a handle on the public’s stand on issues related to libraries. Here’s what…
