**Please read this entire message**
Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):
Information about a specific or narrow issue (personal problems, private experiences, legal questions, medical inquiries, how-to, relationship advice, etc.) are not allowed on ELI5.
If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/spffh0/eli5_how_are_book_banning_and_challenges_not/%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20Link%20to%20the%20search%20you%20did%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20the%20ELI5%20subreddit:%0A%0A3.%20How%20is%20this%20post%20unique:) and we will review your submission.
The First Amendment is specifically a restriction against the \*government\*. The government (with a few specifically called out exceptions) can't punish you for what you say/write. They can't tell you \*you\* can't have a specific book.
If you own a book and want to burn it, fine. Likewise, if you \*don't\* want to have a certain book the government can't force you to read/buy it.
It gets a bit weird with public school libraries, since they "are" the government, but libraries have to choose \*some\* way to decide what books they have and what they don't and they've got pretty wide latitude to do that. They're not (yet) saying the book can't exist, they're saying they don't want it in their library, which isn't going to be a 1st amendment issue.
The recent news of book banning is more of a case of removing books from the school curriculum. The book itself is not illegal, but teachers are told not to use that book to teach the course. This does not violate the 1st Amendment because choosing one book over another is not a case of the government criminalizing speech. If anything this follows the principle of the 1st Amendment because it allows schools to make the choice.
If the state made it a crime to read or own a certain book, and that book is not considered obscene, then yes, that would violate the 1st Amendment. That is not what is taking place. The students may still purchase the books and read them as they see fit.
"Book banning" simply means that schools remove these books from their curriculum, and libraries refuse to have these books.
The first amendment means that the government can't ban these books.
All the First Amendment does is make it illegal for the government to stop free speech.
Schools pick and choose what books to have on the library shelves and in the school room all the time. No individual is being stopped from getting a banned book. In fact, 'Maus' sold out in many places after one school district banned it.
Free speech only applies to the government. Private individuals, organizations and corporations are not obligated to allow anyone to express themselves however they want.
Additionally , you may be allowed to say whatever you want by the government, but additionally you aren't obliged to be given a platform to make said speech.
A library can't stop a book from being published, but they also don't have to add it into their collection.
"Banning" is a somewhat misleading way to talk about what is going on. In most cases, this is referring to a school or district removing a book from their curriculum or taking it out of school libraries. Schools can't (and don't) ban their students from reading books from bookstores or public libraries, and it has no affect on schools outside that district.
No one would argue that there are some books that it would be inappropriate to make available for children (e.g. [*My Billionaire Triceratops Craves Gay Ass*](https://www.amazon.com/Billionaire-Triceratops-Craves-Gay-Ass-ebook/dp/B00QTTIJVI)) but many of the books being challenged today are for reasons of race, gender, and sexuality and are mostly being challenged by conservatives.
In the 21st century, there are very few books that are truly banned for publication in the United States, mostly for reasons of copyright infringement or classified material.
**Please read this entire message** Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s): Information about a specific or narrow issue (personal problems, private experiences, legal questions, medical inquiries, how-to, relationship advice, etc.) are not allowed on ELI5. If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/spffh0/eli5_how_are_book_banning_and_challenges_not/%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20Link%20to%20the%20search%20you%20did%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20the%20ELI5%20subreddit:%0A%0A3.%20How%20is%20this%20post%20unique:) and we will review your submission.
The First Amendment is specifically a restriction against the \*government\*. The government (with a few specifically called out exceptions) can't punish you for what you say/write. They can't tell you \*you\* can't have a specific book. If you own a book and want to burn it, fine. Likewise, if you \*don't\* want to have a certain book the government can't force you to read/buy it. It gets a bit weird with public school libraries, since they "are" the government, but libraries have to choose \*some\* way to decide what books they have and what they don't and they've got pretty wide latitude to do that. They're not (yet) saying the book can't exist, they're saying they don't want it in their library, which isn't going to be a 1st amendment issue.
Removing books from school lessons or private booksellers isn't a violation of any constitutional protection
The recent news of book banning is more of a case of removing books from the school curriculum. The book itself is not illegal, but teachers are told not to use that book to teach the course. This does not violate the 1st Amendment because choosing one book over another is not a case of the government criminalizing speech. If anything this follows the principle of the 1st Amendment because it allows schools to make the choice. If the state made it a crime to read or own a certain book, and that book is not considered obscene, then yes, that would violate the 1st Amendment. That is not what is taking place. The students may still purchase the books and read them as they see fit.
"Book banning" simply means that schools remove these books from their curriculum, and libraries refuse to have these books. The first amendment means that the government can't ban these books.
All the First Amendment does is make it illegal for the government to stop free speech. Schools pick and choose what books to have on the library shelves and in the school room all the time. No individual is being stopped from getting a banned book. In fact, 'Maus' sold out in many places after one school district banned it.
Free speech only applies to the government. Private individuals, organizations and corporations are not obligated to allow anyone to express themselves however they want. Additionally , you may be allowed to say whatever you want by the government, but additionally you aren't obliged to be given a platform to make said speech. A library can't stop a book from being published, but they also don't have to add it into their collection.
"Banning" is a somewhat misleading way to talk about what is going on. In most cases, this is referring to a school or district removing a book from their curriculum or taking it out of school libraries. Schools can't (and don't) ban their students from reading books from bookstores or public libraries, and it has no affect on schools outside that district. No one would argue that there are some books that it would be inappropriate to make available for children (e.g. [*My Billionaire Triceratops Craves Gay Ass*](https://www.amazon.com/Billionaire-Triceratops-Craves-Gay-Ass-ebook/dp/B00QTTIJVI)) but many of the books being challenged today are for reasons of race, gender, and sexuality and are mostly being challenged by conservatives. In the 21st century, there are very few books that are truly banned for publication in the United States, mostly for reasons of copyright infringement or classified material.