Why should books still be banned in modern day America? There is such a long history of opression intertwined with censorship that one would think that as a society we could have moved past this issue. And this trend unfortunately is not restricted just to Arizona:

"Tennessee recently passed a bill that says teachers cannot encourage “gateway sexual activity,” thus cementing the state's abstinence based sexual eduation curriculum.” and “Tennessee was the site of the famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial over whether evolution should be taught in the classroom.” Is it any coincidence then that this very same state is now banning a book because of it's mention of oral sex? It seems to me like Tennessee is an intensely moralistic state and that the banning of books extends beyond libraries and affects many other aspects of society in ways that are obtrusive and instead leading to a “gateway of ignorance.” Censorship is like seed that gets planted and bears fruit with each passing generation, and we are doomed to repeat it unless we see the connection between the banning of books and the curtailing of other liberties in society.

Arizona is unique however in its blatant assault against the liberties of an ethnic minority group living within its borders. I remember being outraged that a state could so haphazardly and with the full acknowledgment of the rest of the country pass such a blatant law to constrict the freedoms of one ehtnic group. It was an assault on democracy, liberty, and intellectual freedom. As a country that celebrates the advancement towards greater equality, I literally felt a knot in my stomach thinking I had just stepped into a twilight zone of a totalitarian state where others would just passively let that happen. “Censorship has been practiced for nearly as long as there have been materials to censor.” The antagonism exists between those that want to censor difficult, controversial and revolutionary material and those that defend the right of people, to read and view what they want and to think for themselves.

By signing this petition you make the full acknowledgment of which side of the debate you stand on. Please let your friends know about this petition and encourage them to sign it. With enough people we can make a difference and end this egregious assault on democracy.

The list of banned books include "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare and "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. It is evident that the state is not trying to safeguard the well-being of its youth but rather blatantly denying them the opportunity to explore ideas that the conservative run state finds threatening to its authority.