First amendment meets Second

Wyoming Libraries issued this fine new bumper sticker that I picked up at last weekend's book festival in Cheyenne. It's now affixed to the rear window of my aging Yuppie minivan. It plays on the old National Rifle Association sticker that once was seen on pick-ups from Tucson to Tucumcari, from Tehatchipee to Tonapah: "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." It was meant as a warning to liberals intent on taking away the guns of law-abiding citizens from coast-to-coast. Who said so? The NRA, that's who. As you may have noticed, guns are more plentiful than ever.

But can the gubment adridge my right to read a book, no matter the subject? It's done it before. We now have the so-called Patriot Act that demands librarians keep mum when the Homeland Security spooks investigate a patron's borrowing habits. Subversive grandmothers have been kept off airplanes due to their reading material. But, thus far, book burnings have been kept to a minimum. Book banning, of course, keeps on at a steady pace. We're coming up on Banned Books Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 6), sponsored by the American Library Association. I always make an effort to read a banned book this time of year. It's very easy, as most of my favorites are on the list. My future favorites are sure to be on future lists. So read a banned book today. And participate in our democratic traditions, such as voting, running for office, and raising hell when politicos attempt to silence dissent.