Just
because Storms isn’t prepared to have a
conversation with her child about sexuality, it doesn’t
mean that every parent in Hillsborough County shares her
insecurities. A state’s government has many functions,
but supporting ignorance shouldn’t be one of them.
How dare she use her power and influence to her defend
her own dread and ordain ignorance and intolerance.
I
hope that most parents aren’t as ignorant or as
frightened as Ms. Storms would like us to think. I need
to believe that good parents know how to censor intelligently,
in accordance with a child’s age and curiosity,
and that they use a great deal of common sense. I don’t
know any parent who, when confronted by a 6-year-old asking
what gay pride is, would throw a copy of Before Stonewall
at the kid and say, “You figure it out!”
Are
the people of Hillsborough County interested in raising
children capable of forming original thoughts and owning
their opinions, or are they determined to mold "mini-mes,"
tiny replicas of themselves? The answer remains to be
seen.
The
National Center for Lesbian Rights pledged to file a lawsuit
and the folks who run the Hillsborough libraries aren’t
happy either. According to the Library Journal,
the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library “was
not asked for input into the county policy, though the
library board chairperson, speaking as an individual,
told the county commission she opposed it.”
There
you have it—democracy in action, Florida-style.
States
and people to keep your eyes on:
Oklahoma
— Republican State Representative Sally Kern
A resolution that passed (81-3) in Oklahoma in May calls
on Oklahoma libraries to “confine homosexually themed
books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively
for adult access and distribution.”
The
Oklahoma House of Representatives Media Division reported,
“The resolution was passed in response to a recent
controversy in Oklahoma County, where a couple living
in Kern’s district was surprised to learn that a
book checked out by their child was about homosexual marriage.”
The book? King & King, by Linda de Haan and
Stern Nijland.
State
Rep. Sally Kern responded to those opposing the measure.
“Tolerance means respecting the right of other people
to disagree with you…Being tolerant doesn’t
mean you suspend all personal moral standards. Unfortunately,
many of the homosexual activists protesting my proposal
define ‘tolerance’ as promoting their agenda
to the exclusion of all other views--particularly Christian
teachings--and trampling the right of parents to raise
their children.”
North Carolina — Republican Congressman
Walter Jones
In May, Congressman Jones introduced a bill [H.R. 2295]—dubbed
the Parental Empowerment Act of 2005—that would
withhold federal education funds from states that don’t
require schools to establish parental advisory committees
to review materials before they are purchased by school
libraries. You might remember Mr. Jones. He’s the
guy behind “Freedom Fries.”
Alabama—
Republican State Representative Gerald Allen
Allen’s bill banning gay speech from any institution
that receives state money came very close to being voted
on in April. But, according to CBS News, “When the
time for the vote in the legislature came there were not
enough state legislators present for the vote, so the
measure died automatically.”
Allen’s
initial draft of the bill would have banned books by gay
and lesbian authors, as well as books with gay or lesbian
characters, from schools, libraries and state-funded universities.
He originally wanted to ban some of the works of Shakespeare,
too, but, as CBS noted, after being criticized by those
who opposed the bill, he “narrowed his bill to exempt
the classics, although he still can't define what a classic
is.”
In
an interview with The Guardian Unlimited (UK)
last December, before the measure died, Allen said that
his bill is a work in progress. It’s "a single
spoke in the wheel, it doesn't resolve all the issues…to
turn a big ship around it takes a lot of time.”
When
asked if the bill would cut off funding for the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival, Allen answered, “Literature
like Shakespeare and Hammet [sic] could be left alone.”
What
would Allen suggest we do with all the gay books that
he hopes to remove? “Dig a hole, and dump them in
it.”
For
more information on the recent Hillsborough County decision
and how to voice your concern about it, visit Equality
Florida's Hillsborough
Action Page.
Kim
Ficera is the author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: An
Unconventional Life Uncensored. Email her at kim@kimficera.com
