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Andrews McMeel Joins Publishers, Booksellers to Oppose H.R. 7761

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Alan Gardner Published: April 13, 2026 1 minute 1 comment

Andrews McMeel Publishing has joined over a hundred other publishers, booksellers, library associations, free speech advocates to oppose House Bill 7761 that critics say gives the government a heavy hand to determine what books can and cannot appear on school library book shelves.

Andrews McMeel’s full statement:

The freedom to speak and to read is a fundamental principle of the United States of America. That is why we have joined together – parents, students, educators, library workers, authors, free expression advocates, booksellers, and publishers — to stand in support of our nation’s school-aged children and teens and in opposition to H.R. 7661.

H.R. 7661, if passed, will compel nationwide book censorship. It confuses obscenity with identity and stigmatizes vulnerable young people, particularly trans children and teens, based on who they are. It will continue to drain funding from our already underfunded schools and libraries. And it will threaten the creativity and critical thinking that are vital to education in the U.S.

A core principle of democracy, freedom, and liberty is that the government does not choose what people get to read and who they get to be. This country has a long history of protecting our freedoms. H.R. 7661 goes against this.

Together, we say that this bill goes against the U.S. Constitution, local self-determination, access to books, and a society that is welcoming for everyone, no matter who they are. Our schools deserve better than this. Our children and teens – all of them, without exception – deserve better than this.

We urge the U.S. House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 7661 or, better yet, to not take it up for a vote at all.

Jeff Trexler over at Comic Book Legal Fund has a good break down what the bill does in practical terms beyond whatever good intention Rep. Mary E. Miller, R-Illinois, may have. To summarize: It uses terms like “sexually oriented material” and not “sexually explicit material” to specific target “gender dysphoria or transgenderism”; books that are except from the ban include books from Christian publisher; and even if this bill doesn’t pass, it creates fear resulting in books taken off the shelf.

EveryLibrary has four actionable things you can do to influence your congressional representative including: Signing the petition, emailing your rep, calling your rep, and writing a letter to the editor.

The full list of groups opposing H.R. 7661. Links below go to the statement of opposition the entity has posted publicly. Feel free to mentally add The Daily Cartoonist to this list.