Unbelievable article from the CBS News website today about a proposal to ban all books by gay authors from certain libraries in Alabama:
Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. Under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.
“I don’t look at it as censorship,” says State Representative Gerald Allen. “I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children.”
Books by any gay author would have to go: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Alice Walker’s novel “The Color Purple” has lesbian characters.
Allen originally wanted to ban even some Shakespeare. After criticism, he narrowed his bill to exempt the classics, although he still can’t define what a classic is.
Don’t be concerned though, because as he explains in the excerpt above, burning books isn’t really censorship, it’s just “protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children”. The Founding Fathers expressed their hatred for children when they decided that free speech and the First Amendment might be important in a free society.
Apparently Gerald Allen thinks that America could be a great country, if only the Constitution didn’t exist! 
When I read this report, it gave me chills. I cannot understand how anyone can think that such censorship and hatred will better the lives of future generations. Not to mention, even if you comb through every book and author and pluck out those ones you find offensive- chances are your child will still encounter alternate lifestyles and different people other than your small-minded self. I see things like this bill as precedent… and if you are off-kilter enough to believe in the first step (banning classics and supporting bigotry) then what is next?
jezebella
April 28th, 2005
Dude… So the next step to his “protecting the hearts and souls and minds” of the children would be….. Ban students who are homosexual from attending public schools in Alabama? Or children who’s parents are homosexuals? Maybe he’ll pass a law that states teachers cannot be homosexuals. Someone oughta knock some sense into this guy….
James
April 28th, 2005
The bill died due to the lack of a quorum of attendance, it looks like. I would prefer it if it died a proper, voted-down death, but this’ll have to do.
Bill Door
April 29th, 2005
Why did this suddenly become a blog? More galleries please.
Chris
April 30th, 2005
This type of bigotry is unacceptable. I fully agree with Jezabella, that even by banning these books, your child has a far greater chance of coming into alternate lifestyles by simply going to school or watching tv. While I believe the south has many wonderful and open-minded individuals it’s the assholes like (I use this term lightly), Mr. Allen that are causing our children the most harm by allowing this narrow-minded and antagonistic attitude towards the gay community to continue.
da_shit26
May 2nd, 2005
GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE ISSUE ITSELF
All people have the right of freedom of choice in this democratic & capitalist society(once it does not harm other people & abides by the laws of the land) . The Gay community does excersise this right & actively campaigns for public awarness & acceptance into mainstream society. So ultimately yes in their eyes, a child should be exposed to & have the power of choice to become a homosexual or lesbian.
However a child is an just that very impressionable soul under the age of reasoning. I am striving to limit UNINVITED bombardment of these things to my child UNTIL HE CAN DEAL WITH IT.
The rights of a child must be carfully dealt with, deliberately exposing them to unecessary adult minority choices are not the way to go.
Thus at least for the school system, such written works should be banned.
(da_shit26) said that Mr allen is being attagonistic towards the gay comunity, I really think he has just the concern of the childeren at heart & the Gay comunity should not get involved with the affairs of childeren!
ray
June 7th, 2005
While Mr. Allen is banning books by gays, he should also look at banning some artwork and music by gays. Leonardo De Vince was homosexual, so all of his works, like “the last supper” and the “Mona Lisa” should be ripped from the walls; and he may as well take a sludge hammer to Michelangelo’s “David” and pull down several of the buildings in Rome that the artist designed. Of course spray painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would also be in order.
In music maybe all the works of Cole Porter should be destroyed, due to him being a bi-sexual, however I think I have a better idea. Maybe we could just get rid of Gerald Allen and vote him out of office.
Not being gay, I can understand Mr. Allen’s fear of homosexuality. He may have been temped some time in his past, and is afraid it will rub off on him. Adolph Hitler had the same idea about getting rid of homosexuals and Jews. Fear is a nasty emotion and can make some otherwise good people do some stupid things. Not that Adolph Hitler was a good person.
Alaska Kid.
Alaska Kid
July 1st, 2005
Discrimination is a part of our history, and will always be part of life as long as people fear change, and what they don’t understand. Look at the suffrage women fought for (and finally won). Or the first blacks in the United States as slaves, who fought for freedom (and eventually won). Or the natives in canada who fought for the right to live on their own land (and also won).
The controversy, and discrimination surrounding homosexuality is simply another problem that must be challenged by those who disagree with people like Mr. Allen.
While People like Mr. Allen will always exist, it is up to the rest of us to change the system to reject those who fear change. They did it with women’s voting, And with slavery, and while there are still those who may think men are superior, or blacks should be put in the field, The majority now disagrees because the system was changed. (ie laws.) Homosexuality is the next issue to be battled upon, and probably far from the last.
As Alaska Kid’s comment noted, “fear is a nasty emotion and can make some otherwise good people do some stupid things”. The fear around gays simply needs to be put to rest, for all this to end.
Ben
July 29th, 2005
Funny that he is unable to define “classic” wasn’t it not so long ago when people couldn’t define “poronographic” either?
charlie
October 9th, 2005