LANSING, Mich. (MIRS News) – The Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC) wants a formal legal opinion from Attorney General Dana Nessel on whether banning and censorship of books in educational institutions violates the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), according to a request letter MIRS spotted through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Services Michigan.
At its April meeting, the Commission unanimously voted to seek the legal opinion on “whether banning and censorship of content and materials, prohibition of paraphernalia and prevention of affiliate groups and safe spaces in educational institutions constitutes a violation” of the ELCRA.
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In a May 26 letter, the MCRC’s general counsel, Lamont D. Satchel, said such activity may impact the MCRC’s enforcement of the ELCRA.
“The analysis of the requested legal opinion should treat each of the protected classifications in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” wrote Satchel, who asked for an opinion in advance of the Commission’s July 24 meeting.
A message to Nessel’s office seeking a timeline on the release of an opinion was not returned today.
Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are not new, but the politicization of the topic is.
In an EPIC-MRA poll released in May and commissioned by the Michigan Library Association, 42% of respondents oppose any book banning in libraries.
The American Library Association documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022 – the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago.
In the U.S. House, 10 Republican Representatives introduced HR 863 in February to prohibit a publishing house from “knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency” and to prevent federal funds from being provided to schools that distribute such material.
Thirty-four state legislatures – including Michigan – have introduced a combined 124 book-banning proposals, including 39 with criminal penalties for librarians.
Texas tops the list with 29 bills, including criminalizing librarianship and prohibiting “any type of romantic or sexual attraction between individuals of the same sex,” transvestism, transgender or gender dysphoria. One bill, SB 1601, would prohibit libraries from hosting “drag performances.”
In Michigan, HB 4136, introduced in February by Rep. Neil Friske (R-Charlevoix), would criminalize librarians for making available material that is “either obscene or sexually explicit matter that is harmful to minors.” The bill sits in the Committee on Local Government and Municipal Finance.
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