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October 07, 2005

Texas group pressures libraries to remove children's books with gay content

A veterans group plans to hold protests Saturday against Montgomery County, Texas, libraries in an effort to remove about 70 children's books the group says contain explicit material. Jim Cabaniss, president of American Veterans in Domestic Defense, said the books contain pornographic pictures or promote homosexuality. "Our purpose is to deal with the excessive smut and pornography in the children's sections of the library," he said. Some titles include It's Perfectly Normal, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Plastic Man.
Montgomery County library director Jerilynn Williams said she is aware of the protests but added that the veterans group has not contacted her. "We respect their right to have an opinion about material in our libraries," Williams said. "We stand strongly on the right of individuals to access information and the right of individuals to choose material they deem appropriate for themselves or their dependent children."

Cabaniss said some residents have approached the commissioners court and the library board about removing the books but that no action was taken. He said the group's goal is to replace members of the two boards with people who will vote to remove the books.

Children's books in Montgomery County have been targeted before. In 2002 the Republican Leadership Council, a conservative Christian group, asked that the commissioners court remove I t's Perfectly Normal and It's So Amazing, both by Robie H. Harris, from library shelves for the same reasons cited by the veterans group.

The books were removed for a few months but returned following a recommendation by a library panel that reviewed the books. The commissioners court approved the recommendation. (AP)

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