Gay Sex Books Back in Library After Lawsuit Threat

The Joy of Gay Sex will return to the shelves of the Nampa, Idaho, public library after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue for removing it and The New Joy of Sex back in in June.

The Joy of Gay Sex will return to the shelves of the Nampa, Idaho, public library after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue for removing it and The New Joy of Sex back in June.

The ACLU wrote the Nampa Library Board a letter last week urging it to reverse its decision to ban the titles from open shelves, according to the Idaho Statesman. The books were then made available only to those who went to the library director's office and specifically requested them.

The five-member board met on Friday, deciding to publicly carry the books after a 3-2 vote.

The books have been in contention since 2005 when a Nampa resident complained that his friend's teenager saw The Joy of Gay Sex on a library table. The man unsuccessfully requested that the library board remove the books, but after board membership changed, he was able to sway the group this past spring.

The board said it removed the books from public shelves to protect minors from sexually graphic illustrations.

Friday's decision was not so much a change of heart but a change in policy, according to the Statesman. As a "matter of fiscal responsibility" the library board said it could not afford a potentially costly First Amendment lawsuit. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)

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Name: Bob Smullen
Date posted: 9/11/2008 12:18:00 PM
Hometown: Hackensack

Comment:
I would certainly not advocate pushing sexual fantasy material on children, ie "porn". But it is a fact not lost on even the dullest of male children, that they have a penis. It is beyond bizarre that our species considers it desirable -- or even possible -- to hide this reality from boys. But by trying, what we end up doing is sending the message "your penis is a bad thing and everything that you do with your penis is a bad thing." This messes with straight boys, as much as it messes with gay boys. And of course, the same principle applies to girls.
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Name: alleb
Date posted: 9/11/2008 10:59:00 AM
Hometown: ny

Comment:
if the book has sexual content such as penis pics or talks of how to have gay sex, then it should be banneds. that goes for any str8 books that are like. we don't need to be sexualizing kids anymore than they are now.
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Name: Bob Smullen
Date posted: 9/11/2008 8:41:00 AM
Hometown: Hackensack

Comment:
There is an obvious homophobic strain to this sort of "ban the book" behavior. But at a more fundamental level, this sort of thing happens because as a nation - even as a species -- we are not accepting of the fact that we are sexual creatures. Why should Papa be afraid that his teenage child sees a book on gay sex (or on any other kind of sex)? I would bet good money on the fact that the teenage child has already developed an interest in sex, and Papa cannot wish that away.

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