To the Editor:

During this election cycle, I have heard repeated calls to set aside national partisan politics. With this in mind, I feel compelled to point out that the book banning initiative from this past Spring represents exactly that: an attempt to implement a national, partisan, political movement in Newtown.

For those who doubt this or wish to investigate for themselves, I urge you to look up the group “Moms for Liberty” — a conservative activism group founded in Florida in 2021 with chapters nationwide. One of its core missions is defending “parental rights” on which the Newtown Republican Party has been actively campaigning with placards declaring “Parents’ Rights.” A key facet of the Moms for Liberty mission is banning books from public schools that they deem inappropriate. Apparently, this is often achieved by populating town Boards of Education with like-minded members in order to pass the bans. A large percentage of these banned books nationwide are challenged due to LGBTQ themes. Does all of this sound familiar?

Mind you, these books were not being checked out or read by our students (until the proposed ban that is, ironically) — one was never checked out; I believe the other was checked out once years ago. The books were almost certainly picked from a list of titles suggested by Moms for Liberty or similar group. Ten challenges were submitted within the same four day window. Subsequently, there was documented coordination with at least one member of the Board of Education.

During public comment last spring, it seemed the clear majority of comments were against banning books. Elections matter. Representative democracy only works when voters turn out to vote. Don’t let a vocal minority dictate to a silent majority. Keep culture wars out of Newtown. Vote for the Democratic and Independent Board of Education candidates.

Eric Linnetz

Newtown