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Biden to appoint ‘anti-book ban coordinator’ as reaction to banned book hoax

June 9, 2023 | | Print Article

As part of a multi-part plan to ostensibly protect the LGBTQ community and promote Pride Month, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he will appoint an “anti-book coordinator” in reaction to a hyped-up banned book hoax that the left is perpetuating.

(Video Credit: 9NEWS)

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will, in essence, appoint a book ban czar to “address the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students,” the White House announced in yet another instance of weaponizing the federal government.

White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden asserted that the coordinator will instruct school districts on how the removal of books and materials in school libraries that parents consider pornographic and inappropriate for children “may violate federal civil rights laws if they create a hostile work environment, hostile environment for students.”

“Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to stigma and isolation that many communities face,” Tanden proclaimed.

“In too many parts of our country, LGBTQ Americans are being targeted for who they are, and that, simply put, is discrimination,” she told reporters on a conference call.

(Video Credit: Associated Press)

Parents and activists have been fighting school districts across the nation in an effort to remove sexually explicit and graphic LGBTQ content from school and public libraries. Biden’s move is a slap in the face to those parents and it addresses a non-existent book ban. The books are not banned, they are just not available to children. But it’s part of Biden’s vowing to the LGBTQ community, “We have your back.”

According to Fox News, “A report from PEN America’s Index of School Book Ban lists released in April found there were 1,477 instances of individual books purportedly banned during the first half of the 2022-23 school year.”

“The American Library Association (ALA) published data in March showing that there were 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number recorded by the group in more than 20 years. Of those reported book challenges, 58% targeted school libraries or classroom curriculums, according to ALA,” Fox News further noted.

Of the top 13 most challenged books, seven featured LGBTQ content that was deemed sexually explicit according to the ALA in 2022. Taking first place was “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe. That particular book depicts and describes oral sex and discusses masturbation. It goes on to relate Kobabe’s journey of self-discovery toward identifying outside the “gender binary.”

Lawmakers, in response to demands by parents and activists, have instituted rigorous book-review policies and other education-reform legislation across the nation to ferret out inappropriate sexually explicit material as well as progressive curricula that contains Critical Race Theory and gender theory that is being taught in classrooms.

A number of elected Republican officials are seeking to ban discussions of gender ideology and Critical Race Theory in classrooms, especially when it comes to younger students.

The number one target of leftists on the issue is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education Law in Florida that prevents school employees or third parties from giving classroom instruction on “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” in all grades K-12.

DeSantis has called the accusations of book banning a “hoax” that is perpetrated by “the mainstream media, unions, and leftist activists.” He has the support of many, many parents in his state and across the country.

Fox News reports, “The governor’s office has said that of 175 books removed from schools across the state based on legislation passed in 2022, 164 were removed from media centers, and 87% were identified as pornographic, violent or inappropriate for their grade level.”

“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” DeSantis declared in March in a statement. “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state, and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age-appropriate.”

Twitter users sounded off on the subject:

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