I found this on a website, and i heard abotu this on the news. i CANT believe this. is this even right? i mean, this one man who was interviewd said that they wanted to protect America and what it stood for, but i THOUGHT AMERICA stood for freedom to live HOWEVER you want! people think gays are anti-american, but in reality, isnt banning gay books and causing censorship ACTUALLY anti-american? i am too young to make a petition against this, but please, someone should taken from the Birmingham News. "Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker Wednesday, December 01, 2004 KIM CHANDLER News staff writer MONTGOMERY - An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries. A bill by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would prohibit the use of public funds for "the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." Allen said he filed the bill to protect children from the "homosexual agenda." "Our culture, how we know it today, is under attack from every angle," Allen said in a press conference Tuesday. Allen said that if his bill passes, novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library shelves and destroyed. "I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," he said. A spokesman for the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center called the bill censorship. "It sounds like Nazi book burning to me," said SPLC spokesman Mark Potok. Allen pre-filed his bill in advance of the 2005 legislative session, which begins Feb. 1. If the bill became law, public school textbooks could not present homosexuality as a genetic trait and public libraries couldn't offer books with gay or bisexual characters. When asked about Tennessee Williams' southern classic "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," Allen said the play probably couldn't be performed by university theater groups. Allen said no state funds should be used to pay for materials that foster homosexuality. He said that would include nonfiction books that suggest homosexuality is acceptable and fiction novels with gay characters. While that would ban books like "Heather has Two Mommies," it could also include classic and popular novels with gay characters such as "The Color Purple," "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Brideshead Revisted." The bill also would ban materials that recognize or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of Alabama. Allen said that meant books with heterosexual couples committing those acts likely would be banned, too. His bill also would prohibit a teacher from handing out materials or bringing in a classroom speaker who suggested homosexuality was OK, he said. Allen has sponsored legislation to make a gay marriage ban part of the Alabama Constitution, but it was not approved by the Legislature. Ken Baker, a board member of Equality Alabama, a gay rights organization, said Allen was "attempting to become the George Wallace of homosexuality." Aside from the moral debates, the bill could be problematic for library collections, said Jaunita Owes, director of the Montgomery City-County Library, which is a few blocks from the Alabama Capitol. "Half the books in the library could end up being banned. It's all based on how one interprets the material," Owes said. " taken from http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1101896768316400.xml#continue
haha....I'm sure most Alabama gays get out as soon as possible, like say at age 16 when they run away from their home and abusive family. Its funny that people from these non-evolving areas are so afraid that they are under attack.
If this does happen, they might as well ban all books that include any kind of relationships. It probably will happen, since this is Alabama we're talking about.
Actualy, I think that it is constitutional. The proposed law does not prevent the writing, publishing, selling or reading of anything. The proposed law puts specific limitations on how state money should be spent. Every so often some numbskull polititian comes up with a dumb idea and writes a law (do you know how many time bills to make pi legaly equal to 3.0 have been introduced). In almost every case, the numbskull bill does not become a numbskull law.
For some reason I thought I replied to this...but maybe it's posted somewhere else as well. I think this is absolutely absurd. I mean, lots of people think gay peopel are like *different* or something. Whatever...there the same as everyone else...they love and want to be loved, have feelings, emotions, etc...and peopel should be able to read books about them. I mean, banning them is ridicolus. People can chose what they want to read. If you don't want to read books about gay people, don't read books about gay people. Buy banning the books is *ridicolus*!
Too bad, that ideal has seem to be erased from modern politics. The world is unfair and ruled by the conservative, right wing government. Couldn't agree more. This is like the beginning of extreme cencorship. Writings describing gays as positive and equals are banned, so that gays don't get any ideas about emancipation. I hope this law shall be stopped; it is against everything America once stood for, when it was created in 1776...
Maybe...but one could argue that it would be that it is unconstitutional to go through libraries and pull out books (already purcahsed and in libraries) with gay characters/references and bury them. Maybe just unethical...and a little too scary (if something like that even had a chance - I have more faith in Americans that that though...)
Not all characters in books are clearly gay or not gay. Think of the people who were upset about the Teletubbies and Spongebob Squarepants. We're talking about fictional characters who don't have sex or even sexual organs. Once upon a time people went around putting skirts on pianos so that you wouldn't be aroused by their legs. People called chicken "white meat" and "dark meat" because "breasts" and "thighs" were just so sexual. Do we really want to go back to those good old days? Not me.
You could take any book or show and find away to make it have a homosexual message. You know, Barney's big and purple. OMG, he's GAY!!! And the good witch of the North is totally digging Dorothy. "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" OMG, she's coming onto her!!! And the American Girl books are soooo teaching lesbianism to little girls. I can go anywhere with this. Politicians are unreasonable. *Sigh* What else is new? I doubt it'll pass, though. I may be optimistic, but I think even the homophobes will recognize how stupid this bill is. One can only hope.
Unfortunately laws don't have to be passed for book burnings to happen. There are several schools in rural TX that removed the typical list, Huck Finn, Moby Dick, even some anatomy and physiology books only a few short years ago. The books were then donated to religious groups who promptly burned them. A librarian was removed from an elementary school because she said it was wrong. They put the superintendants wife in there instead. Corrupt things happen everyday but never gather much attention because the majority of the community just follows along. Baaah, baaah, baah.
exactly. or at least he wont get girls that are truely bi, he'll get the ones that are bi to be cool because britney spears is
I agree with this totally. The problem with the gay thing is. Get ready for this the gays out there are really going to hate this take on the issue.I believe some people are born gay just as some people are born with mental illness,deformed,diseased. The people born gay should try to keep there life style toned down. Not marching around the country trying to act like its normal or something. Anyone with half a brain knows its not normal. There are a lot of very confused ,impressionable kids out there that with a little push in the wrong direction will go with the gay life style . Maybe there not that attractive, and cant get a girl, or boyfriend and think that if its so normal I'll just be gay. It's so much easier to find a partner that way. The gays have made being a lesbian fashionable. How rediculous is that. I see girls at the mall all the time kissing, holding hands, you can't make me believe that these girls are all gay. I believe that a LARGE part of the gay community are not really true gays, they were just led in that direction. Any books promoting gay lifestyles should be banned from are childrens minds. I'm not saying get rid of them all together but at least put an age restriction on them. The moral fiber of this country is gone to $%#@&%$.
The Bible features arguably gay characters in both testaments e.g David and Jesus. Maybe they'll have Bible burnings.
