When books are banned

Have you ever read a banned book?
Would you know if you had?
Sunday, Sept. 22 through Saturday, Sept. 28 is National Banned Books Week throughout America.
Once upon a time, the words “banned” and “book” felt like something that would be used when describing Nazi book burnings in the 1930s and 1940s, definitely not something that happens regularly throughout the United States.
But happen regularly it does...and its not altogether meant negatively.
Books can become banned (typically by school district's in public school libraries, by libraries, religious groups, elected officials or even students themselves) for a wide variety of issues, reasons and causes.
For example, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was challenged and moved for banning by the Baptist College in Charleston, S.C. in 1987 for “language and sexual references”. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been challenged by multiple sources throughout the years for the use of profanities, racial themes, 'objectionable' content and 'conflicted values'. In 2001, books in the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien were burned by Christ Community Church in Alamagordo, N.M. under the accusation that Tolkien's novels of fantasy adventure were satanic. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling have faced similar accusations.
In recent years, young adult novels have come under fire as well, such as The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas being banned due to the fact that some considered the book “anti-cop” and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was banned in 2013 due to containing a “religious viewpoint” that the banning party considered unsuited for the age group of aimed readers. Personally, I'm still confused on which 'religious viewpoint' Collins' was apparently shoving down young reader's throats...but I digress.
Books have been banned from American school and library shelves from everything for containing the word “Lord” in non-reverent ways (Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson) or for simply being a “filthy, filthy book”, according to a Glynn County, Ga., school district board member when speaking of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.
While book bans have been going on for years and will likely continue to take place, some readers beg the question on whether or not book bans in the United States are constitutionally sound.
Opposers of school and library book bans (such as the American Library Association) claim that the act of banning books from schools, libraries and the occasional bookstore shelf is a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment, which protects the freedom of speech, press and religious expression (amongst other freedoms).
However, the justice system of the United States has granted schools and libraries the authority to censor and ban books, audiobooks and music that they deem unsuitable for young readers.
And while the word “banned” makes us think that the books are not accessible at all, the truth is that the banned books are still available to adult readers and bookstores will continue to sell them - so even if young readers can’t access the book in their school or community’s library, it is not as if the book has been burned in fires to prevent it from being read at all.
So while “banned books” may seem ominous, especially when it comes to our First Amendment Rights, the truth is that the bans need to be examined closely before harshly judged.
In some cases, the books are completely inappropriate for young readers; they may contain adult content, themes and language and schools are right for pulling the book from their campus’ library.
In other cases, the book bans may be a discriminatory way for schools and libraries to keep their youth from getting access to books that ask big, uncomfortable questions about race, religion, gender and sexuality.
During the last few days of National Banned Books week, I invite you to look closely at the bans that have taken place throughout American history, read the books that were under the bans and judge for yourself on the value of human literature and the weighty topics it can often present.