The Silencing of Homosexuals

Arkansas tried it first, but failed by one vote. Oklahoma tried it and it is now law. Alabama has put it forth through its legislature. Later this year may prove success or failure. Local governments in a dozen or so other states are trying it. Some may succeed. Some may not.

What is it that they're all doing?

Banning books. Specifically, books that portray gay characters in a positive light.

The book that has stirred the latest call for censorship, The King and King, aimed to teach children about diversity. It tells a story of a prince who searches for a companion and, after rejecting many princessess, takes another prince as his own.

State Rep. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, AL, wants that book off the shelf. He has proposed state legislation that would require books in publically funded institutions that have gay-positive themes to be placed in an adult section and out of the reach of children.

The problem: public libraries don't have an adult section.

Like the law in Oklahoma, the Alabama law would only encourage public institutions to separate the gay-themed books. It's a non-binding law with a heavy price tag, though. Since the institutions targetted are publically funded, any that fail to separate the books could face severe budget cuts.

"Great!" you might think. "My child shouldn't have easy access to such books."

The King and King won't be the only book relegated to obscurity. Added to the "adults only" section will be the classics such as Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Even some of Shakespeare's works would be banished to the adult section.

Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof would be vanguished, too. And if Crowe has his way, not only would the play be shelved in an out-of-reach place, but no school could ever perform the classic.

His proposed law doesn't stop at elementary schools nor does it stop at shelving books in a special section.

Its effects stretches clear through the universities. Yes, he feels it is necessary to protect our children from the harmful influence of positive gay role models even when they reach young adulthood. Universities would need an "adults only" section to house gay-themed books and only with parental consent could a college student check the book out.

Let's not forget that not only are the books being put out of reach and plays being banned, but free speech will be limited. Schools, including colleges, could not teach or even suggest that homosexuality is a normal facet of human sexuality. Schools, including colleges, could not sanction gay clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance or the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Student Union.

Crowe's philosophy is simple: if you don't like the facts or opinions of others, hide them from everyone. That makes it easier to tell them what you want them to believe.

Regardless of one's beliefs towards homosexuality or even the degree one feels our children need to be protected from it, everyone should oppose this dangerous move by Crowe. Today, books with gay-positive themes are banned. Gay positive speech is supressed. Tomorrow, what will the banning flavor of the month be?

If that sounds like a scare tactic consider some of these titles that joined The King and King as books most requested to be removed from libraries for the year 2004:

1. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series for promoting witchcraft and wizardary
2. Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels for racism, sexual content, language, drugs, and violence
3. Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal, a sex education book cited as being too explicit, especially for children
4. Robert Carmier's We All Fall Down for sexual content and language

Even classics such as Mark Twain's Huckleberry Fin and JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye have graced this list in years past.

Imagine, for a moment, the book banning craze takes root and all gay-positive themed books are locked behind glass. Imagine, for a moment, that in addition to locking away the books "for the sake of the children" any gay-positive speech is censored or banned and gay support groups vanguished from our publically funded institutions.

Some readers may see the inherent dangers of the gay-ban precedence. Others may applaud the descion feeling relieved that they wouldn't have to "deal with the morally corrupt freaks" any more.

Imagine for a moment, now, that other groups successfully add to the list of banned books your favorites - science fiction for the promotion of beastiality, romance for sexual content, religious texts for violating the separation of Church and state.

Bingo! The jackpot!

Locked up side by side with the gay-positive books for being morally corrupt rests the Bible for violating the separation of Church and state compunded with the use of gratuitous violence, sex, racism, and sexism. Student religious groups would no longer be allowed to spread God's word on school grounds and no fliers could be distributed advertising Christian community events.

And every time you walked into a library, there behind the glass case is the Bible, locked away as a not-too-subtle reminder that there is something inherently wrong, or evil, with Christianity.

Now stop and think, for a moment, about the book banning craze. There's always been threats of banning books. Even the American Library Association, which compiles the most requested banned titles list, acknowledges that while the complaints are received, rarely - if ever - are the bans honored. No lawmaker has stepped up to the plate and requested, by law, that whole classes of books be banned based on certain content criteria.

Until now.

Something about showing homosexuals in a positive light has a lot of people scared. You may think that the Bible and other Christian works may never get banned nor would any other genre of books. But let the gay book ban take root and gain legitimacy and the precedence is set.

The only remaining question is what books are next?