IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1392 
Recognizing ‘‘Banned Books Week’’ and the sweeping attacks on books in 
the United States today, acknowledging the central role books play in 
promoting democratic and civil discourse, and urging recognition of the 
illegitimate tactics being used to ban books in K–12 classrooms, univer-
sities, prisons, and libraries. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 
Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mrs. WAT-
SON COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing ‘‘Banned Books Week’’ and the sweeping attacks 
on books in the United States today, acknowledging the 
central role books play in promoting democratic and civil 
discourse, and urging recognition of the illegitimate tac-
tics being used to ban books in K–12 classrooms, univer-
sities, prisons, and libraries. 
Whereas the First Amendment of the Constitution protects 
freedom of speech and the freedom to read and write; 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
Whereas Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights states that ‘‘everyone has the right to freedom of 
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to 
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive 
and impart information and ideas through any media and 
regardless of frontiers’’; 
Whereas PEN America has identified more than 1,600 
unique books by 1,261 different authors, 290 illustrators, 
and 18 translators that have been banned in the United 
States during the 2021–2022 school year; 
Whereas an increasing number of book bans have departed 
from best practice guidelines outlined by the National Co-
alition Against Censorship, the National Council of 
Teachers of English, and the American Library Associa-
tion; 
Whereas the sharing of all ideas and the freedom to read are 
essential for a strong democracy; 
Whereas books do not require readers to agree with topics or 
themes but instead allow readers to explore and engage 
with differing perspectives to form and inform their own 
views; 
Whereas suppressing the freedom to read and denying access 
to literature, history, and knowledge are inherently 
illiberal and antidemocratic tactics used by authoritarian 
regimes against their people; 
Whereas book bans often seek to impose restrictions on all 
students and families based on the political, ideological, 
or cultural preferences of the individuals calling for book 
bans; 
Whereas book bans have multifaceted, harmful consequences 
on— 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
(1) students who have a right to access a diverse 
range of stories and perspectives; 
(2) students, from historically marginalized back-
grounds, whose communities are often underrepresented 
in literature; 
(3) educators and librarians who are operating in 
some states in an increasingly punitive and surveillance- 
oriented environment with a chilling effect on teaching 
and learning; 
(4) the authors whose works are being targeted; and 
(5) parents who want to raise students in schools 
that remain open to curiosity, discovery, and the freedom 
to read; 
Whereas classic and award-winning literature and books that 
have been part of school curricula for decades have been 
challenged, removed from libraries pending review, or 
outright banned from schools, including ‘‘Brave New 
World’’ by Aldous Huxley, ‘‘The Handmaid’s Tale’’ by 
Margaret Atwood, ‘‘Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic 
Adaptation’’, ‘‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’’ by Zora 
Neale Hurston, and ‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’ by Harper 
Lee; 
Whereas books, particularly those written by and about out-
siders, newcomers, and people from marginalized back-
grounds, are facing heightened risk of being banned; 
Whereas 674 books referring to LGBTQ+ themes or with 
LGBTQ+ characters have been banned in the United 
States this year, including children’s books such as 
‘‘Families, Families, Families!’’ and ‘‘All Are Welcome’’, 
which recognize the equal humanity and dignity of all 
persons, despite our differences; 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
Whereas 659 books, both fiction and nonfiction, with protag-
onists of color or prominent secondary characters of color 
have been banned in the United States this year, includ-
ing ‘‘Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story’’, 
‘‘Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Wash-
ington’’, ‘‘Thank You, Jackie Robinson’’, ‘‘Malala: A 
Hero For All’’, ‘‘Fry Bread: A Native American Family 
Story’’, ‘‘Hair Love’’, ‘‘Good Trouble: Lessons from the 
Civil Rights Playbook’’, and ‘‘We Are All Born Free: The 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures’’; 
Whereas the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has reported 
a dramatic surge in challenges at libraries and schools to 
the inclusion of graphic novels such as ‘‘New Kid’’, 
‘‘Drama’’, ‘‘American Born Chinese’’, and ‘‘Maus’’ that 
depict the vital diversity of American civic life, and the 
painful historical realities of the human experience, in-
cluding in the Holocaust; 
Whereas books addressing death, grief, mental illness, and 
suicide are targeted alongside nonfiction books that dis-
cuss feelings and emotions written for teenage and young 
adult audiences that confront these topics frequently; 
Whereas soft censorship, the quiet removal or hiding of 
books, presents a subtle challenge that may be obscuring 
the magnitude of the problem; 
Whereas educators throughout the country have been tar-
geted for simply teaching students the truth about 
United States history including, for example, the extreme 
action by the Oklahoma secretary of education in seeking 
to revoke the teaching certificate of an educator who 
merely provided students a link to Brooklyn Public Li-
brary’s Books Unbanned project, which provides young 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
people across the country access to books that may be 
banned in their schools; 
Whereas the Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Sub-
committee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held hear-
ings on April 7, 2022, ‘‘Free Speech Under Attack: Book 
Bans and Academic Censorship’’, and on May 19, 2022, 
‘‘Free Speech Under Attack (Part II): Curriculum Sabo-
tage and Classroom Censorship’’, at which students, par-
ents, teachers, librarians, and school administrators testi-
fied to the chilling and fear-inducing effects that book 
bans have on education and the school environment; 
Whereas more than 150 bills have been introduced in States 
across the country that would restrict books and cur-
ricula on race and gender in schools since January 2021; 
Whereas 19 curriculum gag orders have been enacted in 15 
States across the country; 
Whereas during the 2021–2022 school year, nearly 140 
school districts in 32 States issued more than 2,500 book 
bans, including repeated titles, affecting more than 5,000 
individual schools enrolling nearly 4,000,000 students, 
limiting students’ access to these books for limited or in-
definite periods of time, including— 
(1) in Florida, where at least 566 books in total 
have been banned in 21 school districts; 
(2) in Georgia, where at least 23 books in total have 
been banned in 2 school districts; 
(3) in Indiana, where at least 18 books in total have 
been banned in 3 school districts; 
(4) in Kansas, where at least 30 books in total have 
been banned in 2 school districts; 
(5) in Michigan, where at least 41 books in total 
have been banned in 4 school districts; 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
(6) in Missouri, where at least 27 books in total 
have been banned in 8 school districts; 
(7) in New York, where at least 123 books in total 
have been banned in 34 school districts; 
(8) in Oklahoma, where at least 43 books in total 
have been banned in 3 school districts; 
(9) in Pennsylvania, where at least 457 books in 
total have been banned in 11 school districts; 
(10) in Tennessee, where at least 349 books in total 
have been banned in 6 school districts; 
(11) in Texas, where at least 801 books in total have 
been banned in 22 school districts; 
(12) in Utah, where at least 1,211 books in total 
have been banned in 3 school districts; and 
(13) in Virginia, where at least 169 books in total 
have been banned in 79 school districts; 
Whereas an overwhelming majority of American voters op-
pose book bans; 
Whereas an overwhelming majority of American voters sup-
port educators teaching about the Civil Rights Movement, 
the history and experiences of Native Americans, 
enslaved Africans, immigrants facing discrimination, and 
the ongoing effects of racism; 
Whereas, in 1969, the Supreme Court held in Tinker v. Des 
Moines Independent Community School District that stu-
dents do not ‘‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom 
of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate’’; and 
Whereas, in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Board of Edu-
cation v. Pico that schools may not remove books based 
on ‘‘narrowly partisan or political grounds’’, as this kind 
of censorship will result in ‘‘official suppression of ideas’’: 
Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 1392 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses concern about the spreading prob-
lem of book banning and proliferating threats to 
freedom of expression in the United States; 
(2) reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to supporting writers’ freedom of expression, 
and the freedom of all Americans to read books 
without government censorship; 
(3) calls on local governments and educational 
institutions to follow outlined best practice guide-
lines when approaching challenges to books; and 
(4) calls on local governments and educational 
institutions to protect the rights of students to learn 
and the ability of educators and librarians to teach 
students including by way of providing students with 
the opportunity to read a wide array of books re-
flecting a multitude of viewpoints and perspectives. 
Æ 
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