New Jersey Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Book Bans in Public, School Libraries

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed a law on Monday to prohibit the banning of books in public and school libraries, diverging from the approach that Republican-led states have taken against LGBTQ+ or racially themed materials that conservative-minded parents find inappropriate for their children.

“It’s the antithesis of all these book banning states that you see,” the Democratic governor said at the Princeton Public Library, where he signed the bill. “I’m incredibly proud to have signed it, but also acknowledge that America — and this is yet another good example — is becoming a patchwork-quilt country. It really matters where you live.”