AUSTIN, Texas — A group of Texans is suing Llano County officials for removing certain books from public libraries. It stems from a request made last year by state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Texas, asking for an inventory of books that might make students feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
The Texas Tribune has a list of more than 800 books that some Texans feel should not be in public libraries. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs says taking books off library shelves is “not right.”
“Every day that the people of Llano are being censored, is a day that their First Amendment rights are being infringed upon,” said Ellen Leonida, a partner at Braun Hagey & Borden and head of the impact litigation group.
She said most of the books that have been taken off shelves in Llano County relate to LGBTQ issues, history, racism, and critical race theory (CRT).
“The wide range of books that’s being banned here is really offensive, not just to our plaintiffs and the people of Llano County, but to the First Amendment, which was enacted expressly to prohibit this kind of censorship by a government entity,” Leonida said.
The plaintiffs argue that county and library officials are pushing their own ideas on others. The suit reads in part, “Defendants targeted books with content that conflicted with their personal political and religious beliefs.”
“Just to be clear, they don’t have to read any books they don’t like,” Leonida said. “They don’t have to read to their children any books that they don’t like. But they don’t have a right to dictate to every single person in Llano what books they can read.”
This is an issue Rebecca Bell-Metereau has been dealing with too. She represents District 5 on the State Board of Education, which approves books for Texas public schools. She said she’s received hundreds of calls from people saying they don’t want CRT taught in class. Bell-Metereau says CRT is not part of the K-12 curriculum in Texas. She said it’s mostly a subject taught in law school.
“It’s really not a matter of education. It’s a matter of politics,” Bell-Metereau said. “And they’re using people’s love for their children to get them involved in issues that they really don’t know anything about.”
Bell-Metereau said removing books is causing harm. She said some social studies teachers are afraid to teach certain subjects in class.
“It’s keeping people from teaching and learning and doing their jobs,” she said. “It’s really a big disruption to society. I do not believe they will win in the end because book banning and book burning has never worked.”
Leonida filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. She’s asking the court to put the books back while the lawsuit is pending. Several defendants said they would not comment on pending litigation. Others did not respond to requests for comment. State Reps. Steve Toth and Krause were also asked for comment. Toth was not available, and Krause did not reply.