A school board in Virginia has, at least temporarily, reversed a decision to ban LGBTQ books from school libraries after widespread condemnation.
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, Spotsylvania County School Board voted 5-2 to rescind the decision, which came after parentsā objection to LGBTQ fiction in Riverbend High Schoolās library app. The two naysayers were Rabih Abuismail and Kirk Twigg, who on Nov. 8 suggested that the offending books be burned.
The vote came a day after a board meeting attended by dozens of students, parents and teachers — some displaying signs reading, āGive back the books!ā and āBooks not bonfires.ā
At the meeting, Abuismail and Twigg were accused of violating school district policies and the boardās code of ethics, with many urging the Abuismail to resign, the Free Lane-Star reports.Ā A petition demanding his removal has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.
Speaking during a public comment period, one high schooler told the board that censorship is ācontagious and leads to much worse,ā with a county librarian adding, āIf you have a worldview that can be undone by a novel, let me suggest that the problem is not the novel.ā
Around midnight, board member Baron Braswell proposed the ban ābe rescinded immediately…and that was basically it,ā he told The Washington Post.Ā
However, because the board will gain new members in January, the decision is only temporary, Braswell noted.
He added that removal of the ban came after the schoolās district attorney informed the board of its potential unconstitutionality, arguing that it would violate the right to free speech and prevent children from reading about certain political ideas.
As the GOP vies to win back support from suburban voters, Virginia has been at the center of a nationwide push — often from conservative parents — against teaching about sexuality and race in schools.
Due to a lack of clarity about how āsexually explicitā is defined, three dozen staffers, including all of the districtās librarians, had been forced to pore through tens of thousands of titles.
Braswell said he wants the books that have been challenged to go through the school districtās process for dealing with parent complaints. He said he had known about this system when he initially voted to remove the sexually explicit texts.
āNone of us, for certain, ever believed in censorship or burning books. Thatās just not who we are,ā he told the Post. āEverybody was caught off guard last week.ā
Abuismail told the Post that āhe does not actually want to burn booksā and that he āmisspoke in a heated moment of frustration and anger.ā
Social conservatives are claiming vindication for their views after Robin Westman, the 23-year-old behind the August 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, was identified as transgender by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an X post.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, Westman fired dozens of rounds into the church during a morning Mass attended by students from the affiliated Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian OāHara said, as reported by The Associated Press.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating an assault in Logan Circle in which a man allegedly threatened violence against a passerby in what may have been a hate crime.
The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. on September 15 at 14th and R Streets NW. Police say the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Marshall Baxter, jumped in front of the victim -- a neighborhood resident -- and swung his fists, narrowly missing them.
According to an MPD press release, Baxter, who has no fixed address, allegedly shouted a homophobic slur at the victim.
Sawyer Hemsley, co-founder and chief branding officer of Crumbl Cookies, recently came out as gay after an influencer's viral TikTok speculated about his sexuality.
Hemsley, who launched the billion-dollar cookie chain in 2017 with his cousin Jason McGowan while a student at Utah State, has become a prominent face of the brand on TikTok.
Hemsley addressed the speculation in an Instagram post, writing, "here have been people online trying to define me, twist things, and share conversations that feel harmful. Instead of letting others write my story, I want to share it in my own words. The truth is, over the past few years I've come to understand and accept that I'm gay."
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