•      "H.R. 7661…would, if enacted, curtail K-12 students’ access to books and violate the free speech rights of parents and students throughout the country…Any coming-of-age story, memoir, or picture book that includes a character who is transgender or merely questions their gender would be off-limits. This is not incidental. It is the point. The bill expressly bars an entire topic—and the stories of an entire group of people—from our nation’s public schools. Young people who are already marginalized, already targets of escalating political attacks from their own government, would be further erased from the books they have access to. That is not child protection. That is censorship." Source: The Authors Guild

•      "H.R. 7661 signals that LGBTQ+ representation has no place in public schools and that LGBTQ+ stories do not belong in school libraries." Source: McKenna Samson, PEN America Freedom to Read Program Manager

•      "Parents, not politicians, should guide their children’s reading. In our school, campus, and public libraries, materials are selected by trained literacy professionals who understand child development and community needs. Their work is grounded in one clear purpose: helping young people become lifelong readers. H.R. 7661 isn’t fundamentally about protecting kids. It’s about giving politicians broad authority to restrict whose stories are allowed on our shelves. That should concern anyone who believes in the freedom to read and the right of families to make decisions for themselves. Rather than targeting librarians and teachers, Congress should invest in them. The Right to Read Act offers a better path, supporting well-staffed and well-resourced school libraries, strengthening evidence-based literacy instruction, and protecting the dedicated professionals who help young people discover books that open doors and expand horizons. When we trust families, support educators, and protect the freedom to read, our young people thrive." Source: Sam Helmick, President of the American Library Association