Last year, a mother in Glen Ridge, NJ was simply going about her busy daily schedule. She stopped by the local county library, and to her shock, there were books on display in the young adults section that featured graphic images of sex. She contacted a local parent’s group – Citizens Defending Education of Glen Ridge, to report her experience and find out what can be done to protect her children from being exposed to this type of obscene material.
This group followed the official procedure by requesting the library review the following books and move them to a secure adult section to avoid young children, often 10 – 12 years old who frequent the young adults section, from having direct access to these books.
The books being challenged were: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johson; Here and Queer by Rowan Ellis and Jacky Sheridan; It’s Not the Stork and It’s Perfectly Normal, both by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley; This Book is Gay by James Dawson; and You Know, Sex by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smith.
To be clear, these parents never asked for these books to be removed from the library. They never asked for these books to be banned. Their only request was for the books to be relocated to a section where adults browse the shelves – not preteens. Parents, who so choose, can still check out these sex manuals for their children. I can not for the life of me figure out why any parent would!
But the request from Citizens Defending Education was simple, reasonable, and legal. The response from LGBT activists was the exact opposite. It was violent, frightening, and illegal. Yes, the police were contacted by involved citizens because of death threats.
What caused such hatred? Sadly, it’s because caring moms and dads did not want 10-year-olds looking for a 5th grade chapter book to come across illustrations of male-on-male anal sex (It’s Perfectly Normal, Chapter: What is Sex?) or obscene and lewd descriptions of sex acts (This Book is Gay, Chapter: The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex),
Rub the head of his c**k back and forth with your hand…
when it comes to b**w j*bs – watch the te**h…
I can’t go on. I just can’t. It gets worse, much worse! The preparation work for “butt sex” as the book defines it and the encouragement to “take it like a man” in your bottom is not the books any of us read in 5th grade – or as adults.
Last night, the Glen Ridge Library voted to keep the books in the young adult section. One of the most vocal public figures in the media supporting the library’s decision was Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
NJ.com article quoting Mr. DiVincenzo
New Jersey Globe article quoting Mr. DiVincenzo
I want to ask you to use our Action Center to contact the Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo to express your disagreement over his support of these books being located in areas for children.
