Texas Republicans Demand School Districts Ban 'Pornographic' LGBT Books
Republicans in a letter on Wednesday urging Texas school districts not to purchase from or partner with firms that have supplied "obscene" materials, singling out LGBTQ coming-of-age story Gender Queer: A Memoir, by non-binary author Maia Kobabe.The move comes amid efforts across the country to ban or restrict access to certain books in classrooms, with Gender Queer becoming a particular focus of criticism because it contains some illustrations depicting oral sex.The Republicans' letter said Gender Queer "graphically illustrates child pornography" and said it was regrettable that the book was available in some public school libraries."Sadly, we don't know how many children across Texas have been exposed to this obscene material, or others like it," the lawmakers wrote.Gender Queer deals with Maia Kobabe's experiences growing up and grappling with identifying as gay, bisexual or asexual.
Kobabe identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns "e/em/eir."In their letter, the Republican lawmakers said "preventing graphic materials from entering our public schools will be a multi-level process.""Both local districts and the Legislature will be working diligently on policies to prevent such books from being allowed on campus in the future," the letter said.EXCLUSIVE: I’ve obtained a letter sent by GOP legislators in Texas to school districts around the state.The letter asks superintendents and school boards to pledge to ban certain books - specifically ones that feature LGBTQ characters in coming-of-age storylines.The letter: pic.twitter.com/f5zeRK2dzI"However, we also acknowledge school districts have a lot [of] power in the market when purchasing books and that if we stand together against explicit materials for children,.
