S1099

The New York State Senate passed legislation to protect school and public library collections from censorship efforts, with a 46-15 vote on Senate Print 1099. Sponsor Sen. May said the bill combats what she characterized as ideological attempts to remove books featuring LGBTQ voices and stories of ethnic and religious minorities from library shelves. She cited a 92 percent increase in censorship attempts targeting such titles and argued that librarians recognize the importance of these works for marginalized youth facing bullying and ostracism. May also highlighted frequently censored works including 1984 and A Handmaid's Tale, calling them essential reading for understanding contemporary authoritarianism. Fifteen senators voted against the measure: Borrello, Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Lanza, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk and Weik.