In the same month that the American Library Association came out with its annual list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books, two Florida moms have stepped up their campaign to have libraries put a “Warning: Mature Content” label on any young adult books that refer to illegal acts or contain “inappropriate” content and to segregate them from the rest of the young adult books. Dixie Fechtel and Diane Venetta have asked the Lake County Board of County Commissioners to impose such restrictions on the district’s nine municipal and six branch libraries.
Worse yet, they’ve enlisted the help of the ultra-conservative Liberty Counsel, who among other things have defended “ex-gay” mom Lisa Miller in her quest to keep ex-partner Janet Jenkins away from the child they raised together, simply because Jenkins is a lesbian.
Marriage of same-sex couples is illegal in Florida. So is adoption by gay men and lesbians. If books with “illegal acts” and “inappropriate” content are slapped with warning labels and segregated, do you think any books about LGBT families will be easily accessible? (Not to mention books that deal with abuse, drug use, reproductive rights, or any of the myriad of topics about which young adults have questions and that are likely to be viewed in the same vein.)
I’ve written more about this at Change.org, so you can go have a read. You can also use the widget below to petition the county commissioners not to concede to Fechtel and Venetta’s demands.