As further proof that the anti-gay Christianist organizations never give up on trying to disseminate false and slanderous information about gays (particularly to impressionable youth), the Washington Post is reporting about the failed efforts of a Focus on the Family initiative to have anti-gay books placed in public school libraries. Fortunately, the Fairfax County, Virginia, school system said, "no thank you" on the basis that the offered materials were not supported by peer review approved publications. This tactic of Focus on the Family is similar to PFOX's efforts to secure equal time in schools to give out false information on homosexuality being a "choice" and "treatable." The truth, of course, is that reputable and legitimate medical and mental health associations have condemned PFOX's bogus information. As I have remarked time and time again, the willingness of these allegedly "Godly Christians" to lie again and again is amazing. The truth really means nothing to them. Here are some story highlights:*
During a week that librarians nationwide are highlighting banned books, conservative Christian students and parents showcased their own collection outside a Fairfax County high school yesterday -- a collection they say was banned by the librarians themselves.
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More than 40 students, many wearing black T-shirts stamped with the words "Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas," said they tried to donate more than 100 books about homosexuality to more than a dozen high school libraries in the past year. The initiative, organized by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, was intended to add a conservative Christian perspective to shelves that the students said are stocked with "pro-gay" books.
More than 40 students, many wearing black T-shirts stamped with the words "Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas," said they tried to donate more than 100 books about homosexuality to more than a dozen high school libraries in the past year. The initiative, organized by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, was intended to add a conservative Christian perspective to shelves that the students said are stocked with "pro-gay" books.
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Most of the books were turned down after school librarians said they did not meet school system standards. Titles include "Marriage on Trial: The Case Against Same-Sex Marriage and Parenting" and "Someone I Love Is Gay," which argues that homosexuality is not "a hopeless condition."
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Fairfax County's policy on library book selection says "the collection should support the diverse interests, needs and viewpoints of the school community." But library officials said donated and purchased books alike are evaluated by the same standards, including two positive reviews from professionally recognized journals. None of the donated titles met that standard.
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Focus on the Family selected and supplied the books. The teenagers assembled yesterday did not say they had read any of them. Other groups are launching similar campaigns to get books challenging homosexuality on library shelves. Virginia-based Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays maintains a list of titles and encourages its members to donate them to libraries.
2 comments:
I am sorry but this is NOT censorship.
I’m usually not one for censorship but I am for standards. And I have a hard time believing that anything put out about the lgbt community by the anti-gay industry or their allies belong in a public library without extreme scrutiny on its credibility.
The anti-gay industry has a track record of relying bad research (Paul Cameron) or distorting legitimate research (i.e. Elizabeth Saewyc, Robert Spitzer, Patrick Letellier, Robert Garafalo, Carol Gilligan, Lisa Waldner, Joanne Hall, Francis Collins, etc. )
And this track record of lies should not be ignored simply because the anti-gay industry was able to find enough guillible students and their parents to try and play a game of semantics.
I don’t think a book should be included in a library’s selection simply because a group holds a press conference and sidesteps the issues of accuracy by appealing to emotions and religious beliefs
When choosing books, libraries should always adhere to high standards and the highest of all of these are veracity, or truth.
I'm glad they didn't accept them. There are standard to uphold, even if the donors have none. I think it is the beginning of the end for the right wingers.
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