Ban on book bans set to advance in Md. legislature

State Democrats plan to prohibit book banning, combating campaigns by conservative groups to remove books from public schools and libraries that are often written by or about LGBTQIA+ people and communities of color. Lawmakers are pushing for guardrails against challenges to books with content “contrary to the belief systems of a very small group of people,” state Senate Majority Leader Nancy King said during a press conference Friday.