Photo courtesy of senate.mo.gov

Missouri House Votes to Repeal State Funding for Public Libraries

The Missouri House is attempting to strip state funding for public libraries.

Lawmakers voted Tuesday to remove all of the state’s funding of public libraries, roughly a week after House Budget Chairman Cody Smith cut the libraries funding by $4.5 million.

Both decision come after several library groups filed suit against the state that demands a new Missouri law be overturned.

The law in question, which was passed last year, bans books that include sexually explicit material, specifically in school libraries.

The ban does not apply to written descriptions of sexual nature, only visual depictions such as photos, drawings or videos.

Republican lawmakers have said that the law is not a book ban, but a way to protect innocent children.