Rep. Ayanna Pressley Introduces ‘Books Save Lives’ Act to Fight Bans

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) believes that books save lives—and she’s introducing legislation to prove it.

The Democratic congresswoman introduced the Books Save Lives Act, aimed at fighting the rise in conservative book bans, on the House floor on Thursday. “Let me make it plain,” she said, “book bans are discriminatory and harmful, and Congress might unite against them.”

As a child who endured sexual abuse, Pressley said, the experience of reading Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was revelatory. “It was the first time in my life I knew I was not alone,” she said in her floor speech. “And it helped me move forward. So when I say that books save lives, I mean that.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.