May 20, 2005
Just what librarians need...
...is the Louisiana Legislature censoring their books:
Gay book not child's play, says lawmaker
BATON ROUGE -- Books "containing the theme of homosexuality" and other "age-inappropriate" topics should not be on public library shelves accessible to children, a St. Tammany Parish lawmaker said Thursday.
Rep. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, has filed House Concurrent Resolution 119, calling on all public libraries to remove such material from the children's book sections and confine it "exclusively for adult access and distribution."
Crowe said he filed the resolution after being contacted by a constituent, Dan Danese of Slidell, who said his 4-year-old daughter had picked out a book titled "King and King" from the children's section of the St. Tammany Parish Library on Roberts Boulevard.
The book deals with a queen mother who tries to introduce her son to potential princesses, but the prince instead prefers one of the women's brothers. "The last page of the book clearly shows men kissing and clearly promotes the homosexual lifestyle," Crowe said. He said the book is labeled as appropriate for children 6 and older.
"I'd prefer to get them out of the library," Crowe said. "Somebody (in St. Tammany Parish) should be held accountable for allowing this to get into the hands of our children.
I suppose he'll want to burn the copies that are already in the library...