The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) Board is considering a rule change that would dramatically expand censorship in the state’s libraries. This proposal threatens the rights of Alabama families, including the more than 55,000 military-connected families who call this state home.
Military Families for Free Expression (MFFE) is urging every family with Alabama connections to share and submit a comment before the October 14th deadline. Currently stationed or living in the state? Originally from Alabama? Then you can submit a comment!
This is not just about libraries. It’s about whether government officials can override parental authority, censor communities, and strip away the freedoms that our loved ones in uniform serve to protect.
Board member Amy Minton introduced a rule amendment that would force librarians to remove or deny books with “positive portrayals” of transgender people or depictions of individuals who don’t conform to one sex.
The rule uses vague language like “inappropriate for children or youth,” opening the door to sweeping book bans based on the opinions of one small portion of the community.
If passed, this amendment would shift power away from local library boards and parents and put it in the hands of a state agency.
We rely on public libraries. Frequent moves mean our kids depend on school and community libraries as stable places to learn, read, and connect.
We defend freedom. Service members risk their lives to protect freedoms - speech, thought, and expression - that this amendment would erode.
We value parental authority. Families, not state bureaucrats, should decide what their children read.
The APLS Board is accepting public comments until October 14, 2025. Every voice matters, and military families carry unique weight in this debate.
Submit your comment here: Read Freely Alabama Comment Portal
Speak from your experience. Share why library access matters to your family, how censorship harms your community, and why freedom of expression is non-negotiable.
Encourage others. Pass this along to friends, neighbors, and fellow military families in Alabama.
This rule is government overreach, plain and simple. It threatens constitutional rights, undermines parental authority, and burdens librarians with enforcing vague bans. Alabama’s military families know better than most what’s at stake when freedom is eroded.
Now is the time to act. Submit your comment, stand up for your family’s rights, and help stop censorship in Alabama’s libraries.
Here’s what MFFE submitted to the Board:
To the Board of Directors of the Alabama Public Library Service:
On behalf of Military Families for Free Expression (MFFE), we submit this comment opposing the proposed amendment to Rule 520-2-2-.03.
MFFE is a coalition of military-connected families standing up against censorship and book bans. We are a non-partisan effort, grounded in the freedoms our loved ones in uniform swear to defend.
Alabama is home to more than 55,000 military members and their families. Installations like Redstone Arsenal, Maxwell Air Force Base, Fort Novosel, Anniston Army Depot, and Coast Guard Sector Mobile make Alabama one of the nation’s most significant defense communities. The announced relocation of Space Command to the state will only grow that presence. So for military families, the debate over this amendment to the state library code is not abstract. Book bans and censorship directly affect the schools, bases, and public libraries upon which we depend.
MFFE’s concerns regarding the proposed amendment:
Government overreach
The proposal advanced by Board member Amy Minton compelling librarians to remove or refuse books with “positive portrayals” of transgender people or depictions of individuals who don’t conform to one sex is unconstitutional, dangerous, and far exceeds the limited scope of Governor Ivey’s 2023 letter to the Board. The APLS board is attempting to exceed the boundaries of its authority outlined by the letter and is now trying to define what is “inappropriate” for all residents and families based on the opinions of one small portion of the community.
Constitutional rights and parental authority
The attempted overreach violates the constitutional rights of Alabama families and infringes on the authority given to local boards to determine their own policies and respect parental rights of every Alabama resident, regardless of political, religious, or various other viewpoints. These changes would let the state—not parents—decide what all children can or cannot read. Families in Alabama, including military families who move frequently and rely heavily on public libraries, must retain the right to make those decisions themselves. Censorship strips away that authority.
The freedoms service members defend
Our loved ones in uniform risk their lives to protect freedom of speech. When a state agency censors entire groups of people or ideas, it undermines the very democratic values our families serve to uphold. Intellectual freedom is not optional; it is essential to a free and strong society.
Improper burden on library staff
Expecting librarians to enforce vague bans not only exceeds the Board’s authority but places public servants in an impossible position to be policing ideas and morals rather than serving communities.
MFFE asks the Board to respect the Governor’s own reasoning that library policy should remain in the hands of local boards, within constitutional boundaries. If any revisions are required, they should use the clear, legislatively defined standard of “material that is harmful to minors as defined in § 13A-12-200.1(11),” not vague, overbroad terms like “inappropriate for children or youth.” Courts, including in Penguin Random House v. Gibson and Penguin Random House v. Robbins, have already warned against such sweeping, undefined language.
Military families are proud to serve a country where freedom, including the freedom to read, grow, and learn, is fundamental. MFFE urges the Board to reject this proposed amendment and respect the rights of Alabama families, military and civilian alike, to make their own choices about what their children read.
Signed,
Military Families for Free Expression
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.