“Marking 25 Years of Banned Books Week,” by Judith Krug of the ALA, Curriculum Review, 46:1, Sep. 2006.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18037684_ITM

http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2010/08/et-tu-mary-minow-then-fall-gail-sweet.html

Congratulations, Gail Sweet. By ignoring the proper processes for consideration of materials you have made a mockery of the basic tenants of library science and proven yourself a discredit to the profession.

On the other hand, it’s splendid publicity: Guess what title just went on my list of things to purchase? It may even go back into print if the demand is high enough!

The cry of “we must protect our children,” as always, remains “we must protect our straight children, but must ban books that educate, and pass laws against that which protects, our gay kids. Because it’s just not good for teenagers to know about this stuff.”

If parents won’t talk about sexuality with their kids in an effort to keep them innocent, and if the books talking about sexuality are banned in an effort to keep ‘kids’ in general ‘protected’ (from what? adult knowledge of sexuality) then where do kids turn? Lunchroom gossip? Other kids are kept from knowledge about sexuality via the same methods that you are, so anything you’re going to hear is very well likely going to be misinformed at best and actively dangerous/harmful at worst.

Protect our queer and straight children from knowledge!
Protect our queer and straight children from safety!
Protect our queer and straight children from taking their place in society as adults….

…oh, wait–isn’t that “protect our queer adults from taking their place in society as adults?”

It’s the same technique–bury the existence of queer people by destroying or twisting the information about them that is available.

This isn’t a teen issue, and it’s not even a queer issue–it’s an issue of educating people about sexuality and being silenced for it. Presenting it like a queer teen “safety” issue (as many media outlets and the library have) just obscures the fact that the same silencing techniques are being used to keep queer people of any age from understanding themselves, and being used to keep straight people of any age from understanding queer people:

God forbid some straight mom should want to know how other parents dealt with their teenage kids’ recently declared queerness–she might find out that other mom baked her daughter an Ellen cake! That would destroy the fabric of civilization as we know it.

I know my own mom relies mostly on books like this to try and understand me.

I doubt my library was alone in doing this and I’m going to laugh my ass off when they day inevitably comes, and probably already has several times, when a conservative group tries to get a book banned for being ‘offensive’ *AKA: not agreeing with them* while doing absolutely nothing about the book in the same library calling for Jew genocide.

It appears that the book contains two illustrations that seek to artistically draw the reader to compare the “wholesomeness” of boy scouts with the reality of gay sexuality. While they are provocative, they are not obviously pornographic or obscene and certainly deserved that the established process be followed. They can be found on this anti-gay site.

The artist is Daryl Vocat and I’m not completely sure that the more graphic picture is even in the book. I’m looking for confirmation.

I think they do have a “Young Adult” section. It even includes Alex Sanchez’ great Rainbow Boys books.

It seems they also have a “Parents Shelf” where gay related children’s books like King and King are kept.