"These characters and themes cannot exist"
Florida school district purges all books with LGBTQ+ characters from school libraries and classrooms
In a clear and obvious escalation in their purging of all LGBTQ+ people from society, the school district of Charlotte County, Florida has ordered every single book with LGBTQ+ characters must be removed from all district school libraries and classrooms. The order also bans students from bringing any reading materials with LGBTQ+ characters to school.
From LGBTQ+ Nation:
“These characters and themes cannot exist,” Superintendent Mark Vianello stated explicitly when asked about students’ “self-selected” reading materials by school librarians.
“Are we removing books from any school or media center, Pre-K -12 if a character has, for example, two mothers or because there is a gay best friend or a main character is gay?” one librarian asked Superintendent Vianello.
Vianello answered, “Yes. Books with LBGTQ+ characters are not to be included in classroom libraries or school library media centers.”
(Governor Ron) DeSantis has characterized charges he’s trying to ban books as a “hoax”, and maintains the texts being removed from library and classroom shelves are “pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards.”
“Pornographic and inappropriate” for simply having a character that’s deemed illegal under Florida’s maligned “Don’t Say Gay” Law. This is how fascist regimes have operated throughout history.
In other news, Ron DeSantis’ chances of winning the Republican primary grow dimmer and dimmer by the day.