Now to Illinois, where Democratic Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill today.
That effectively makes Illinois the first state in the nation to end book bans.
The law cuts funding to any public libraries or schools that do not adhere to
the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights.
Which prohibits the removal or restriction of reading materials due to partisan or
personal disapproval.
>> That's right, Illinois just became the first state to take action against
the massive wave of book bans sweeping the country.
For more on the bill, let's hear from the big boy governor himself of Illinois,
JB Britzker.
>> The American Library Association cited 67 attempts to ban books in Illinois in
2022.
One of those books is the Memoir Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe,
which explores nonbinary gender identity.
That effort failed.
But how do you respond to parents who say that it should be up to them to decide
what their children read?
>> Well, that's exactly what this bill does.
This new law allows parents to make the decision about whether their
children will be able to get that book.
And make the decision about whether they don't wanna present that to their kids.
So this isn't about taking things away.
I believe in the freedom to read and to understand and learn,
and that's what libraries and librarians do.
We should let librarians do the work that they have always done.
They get to choose what books get put on the shelves.
But they also are prohibited from taking books off the shelves for
political reasons.
>> Why does it feel good to be a resident of Illinois?
And have our governor making news for
something that's not corruption [LAUGH] But unsurprisingly.
Of course, Illinois Republicans were not happy about this bill.
House Minority Leader Tony Mccombby wrote this in an emailed statement.
He said, I support local control.
Our caucus does not believe in banning books.
But we do believe that the content of books should be considered in their
placement on the shelves.
Which is, if you couldn't tell,
just a fancy way of him saying that he wants to ban books.
Because no matter what, the schools and the school districts are gonna have
control over what books are going on the shelves.
Just not the ability to ban or prohibit books outright.
Anyway, the Illinois bill is very much necessary because a mind boggling number
of books are getting attacked by conservatives.
Associated Press reported that more than 1200 challenges were
compiled by the American Library Association in 2022.
Nearly double the then record total from 2021, and
by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago.
And Ben, isn't it just so
ironic that these conservatives who love to talk about, it's just like 1984.
It's just like Fahrenheit 451, but they are literally the ones banning
the book [LAUGH] >> They are the most soft, snowflakey,
afraid of everything, can't go outside,
can't be exposed to a thought.
Or an idea group of people that crumble under the tiniest bit of criticism,
the tiniest bit of challenging information.
The tiniest bit of exposure to somebody different than they are possible.
It's so embarrassing for them that these people are so fragile.
>> That they have to get their panties in a bunch and
crumble like ice cream cone in the wind.
Melted right down to the bottom of their soft soggy cone to be able to exist in
this world.
I feel terrible for these people.
How harmful ideas must be.
They should probably try to insulate themselves from anybody from
the outside world.
And keep inbreeding so
that they don't have any outside genes affecting their gene pool.
It's a smart way to go, fellas,
less teeth, >> [LAUGH]
>> Less chromosomes, less evolution.
You stick with, you do it.
>> Less problems too.
Less to worry about.
Less brain capacity, less to worry about.
You know what I'm saying?
But I think what the governor said is true.
The bill allows for parents to step in and
have some autonomy over what their kids do or don't read.
But for me, the funniest thing about this is that we live in an age.
One where paperback books are becoming less and
less of like a generally consumed thing at all.
And also how many children just really love reading?
Let's be serious.
Yeah, you do have some kids that love to read, but
generally kids don't just love reading books like that.
So I'm gonna sneak off and read a book about cultural identity issues.
Most children don't even know how to think about those things.
Especially if you're talking about like elementary or middle school settings.
Maybe you might be starting to explore it.
But again, it's like if it's really that big of a deal,
then just step up and be a parent.
Step up and introduce some influence into your children's life.
And some discipline or whatever it is, actually lead them,
actually provide some insight.
But too often these people, as Ben was pointing out,
they have inbred insight and so, >> [LAUGH]
>> It just doesn't go very far,
you know what I'm saying?
It's just really stupid.
And it's also an incredible waste of political capital to try to ban books that
nobody's reading anyway.
Let's be serious.
>> A lot of these people with these repressive opinions,
they're lettuce tomato and meat because they're in bread.
>> [LAUGH] >> You're right,
I should have just kept up [LAUGH] >> It needed to flow
[LAUGH] >> One thing I think is really interesting
as we talk about this is the fact that.
This is sort of promoted,
as if there's an influx of large groups of parents who want these books to be banned.
When in fact, and they're portrayed as grassroots movements.
But in fact, they're actually most of these movements have ties to infamous
conservative villains.
And mega donors like the Koch brothers.
And let's look at this as specific example.
Moms for Liberty, the Guardian did some reporting on this group and
they found that Moms for Liberty groups.
Are promoted on the website of Parents Defending Education,
another conservative group.
PDE's president Nicole Neely was previously the executive director of
the Independent Women's Forum.
And worked at the Cato Institute,
a rightwing thinktank co-founded by Republican mega-donor Charles Koch.
The Intercept reported that the IWF has received large donations from
Republican donor Leonard Leo.
Moms for Liberty also appears to be affiliated with.
Or at least a frequent promoter of the Heritage Foundation of
right-wing Koch funded think tank.
There's another group called No Left Turn in Education with a clever name that is
for your group.
But they're a similar group to Moms for Liberty, and
they are also promoted on this PDE website.
According to the Guardian, again,
No Left Turn in Education has links to deep pocketed conservatives.
The Milwaukee Journal reported that Alana Fishvine,
No Left Turn in Education's founder.
Has provided free legal representation for
parents wishing to challenge school districts.
According to Journal, most of those lawyers are affiliated with
the Liberty Justice Center and Pacific Legal Foundation.
Which received funding from the prominent GOP donor Dick Uihlein,
a Wisconsin-based billionaire.
And that's a lot but I still have one more example for you from the New York Times.
The Keller Independent School District, just outside of Dallas,
passed a new rule in November.
It banned books from its libraries that include the concept of gender fluidity.
The change was pushed by three new school board members elected
in May with support from Patriot Mobile.
A self-described Christian cell phone carrier.
Through its political action committee, Patriot Mobile poured hundreds of
thousands of dollars into Texas school board races.
To promote candidates with conservative views on race, gender and sexuality,
including on which books children can access at schools.
And if you think a cell phone provider called Patriot Mobile is actually
genuinely bringing in enough revenue.
From selling their phone service to individuals that they could fund these
races, I have a bridge to sell you.
I mean, Jackson, it's not surprising to see that the same big buddied
interests that have been fighting these culture wars.
And pushing these culture wars are also funding these book banning bills.
But it is interesting to see it just laid out in front of you how interconnected
these orgs are.
>> Well, and also, too,
it's hilarious when liberty is actually the antithesis of the word.
What they associate it with Moms for Liberty,
which means the ability to impose my narrow mindedness onto everyone else.
I mean, that's basically all it is.
And the dumbest thing about it is these are issues that people could just choose
to not think about.
Now, that's not to say we have perfect control of our thoughts.
Nobody can turn their minds off.
You can't perfectly control what's in there.
But some things, yeah, you can just choose to just keep yourself busy in other areas.
Some people just need to go do something, you know, what I'm saying?
>> [LAUGH] >> For real,
your kids at school having a good time, probably just playing with their friends,
not thinking about any of this.
Like, literally not thinking about any of these things.
And you're just, like, tapping your pencil at work, not being productive.
Like, my kid might read a book that has gay people in it.
>> [LAUGH] >> It's just so stupid.
But again, the idea of freedom to them is their freedom to take
freedom away from everybody else.
>> Exactly. >> No, see, I disagree, because I grew up
watching a show called My Two Dads, and that show made me gay.
It made me be very gay, >> [LAUGH]
>> And it just changed the trajectory of
my life.
I wasn't able to discern a show from my own life.
And obviously I'm kidding because that is very stupid.
And I was able to somehow still turn out straight, believe it or not.
I mean, it's the craziest idea in the world to think
that exposure to an idea is gonna change somebody.
So it's not even rooted in actual belief or fear.
It's just rooted in hate.
It's just let's try to make that group feel small,
make that group feel less than.
>> One thing I really like about that conservative line of thinking is
that being gay is such an attractive idea.
That the mere exposure of the concept of gayness
will be enough to convert people into being gay.
I love the idea that [LAUGH] It has this power.
The mere knowledge of homosexuality is enough to grasp you and
change the course of your life forever.
>> It does, it's like a very powerful, >> [CROSSTALK]
>> It's kind of a vortex you can't get
out of it.
>> [LAUGH] >> Next, I understand Republicans
are gonna ban the word happiness because it has a penis in it.
>> [LAUGH] >> And it also is related to the word gay,
so we can't have any of that going on, you know what I'm saying?
>> Right, >> But the bottom line is,
as a heterosexual man, I don't think about men sexually because I'm not gay.
And it's not more complicated than that, you know what I'm saying?
So there's something to be said about being so
obsessed with the idea of homosexuality if you aren't.
>> I grew up as a boy named Ben and the popular cream or ointment,
if you hurt yourself back then, >> [LAUGH]
>> Called BENGAY,
literally was called BENGAY, and I came out not gay.
So there's nothing more overt than seeing on billboards and
signs and stores BENGAY, and I ended up straight.
If anything proves you can survive exposure to direct program
messaging it's that, >> Despite the obstacles,
you still made it to the top of the hill.
>> I made it to the top of the hill if the top of the hill is dating women who
usually aren't interested.
>> [LAUGH] >> I'll just end this by saying,
as a queer person, I didn't become gay because I watched Santana and
Brittany kiss each other on Glee.
I was gay long before that.
[LAUGH] That was just when I realized that I was in love with Naya Rivera.