Confessions of a Mad Librarian

There has already been a fair amount of reaction to the proposed legislation by Alabama state rep. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) to ban state funds from being used to purchase material (fiction or non-fiction) for schools, public and college libraries that have queer characters offers a positive or neutral view on homosexuality.

Rep. Allen sees the possible effects of his bill as such:

Allen said that if his bill passes, novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library shelves and destroyed.

"I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," he said.

...

When asked about Tennessee Williams' southern classic "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," Allen said the play probably couldn't be performed by university theater groups.

Allen said no state funds should be used to pay for materials that foster homosexuality. He said that would include nonfiction books that suggest homosexuality is acceptable and fiction novels with gay characters. While that would ban books like "Heather has Two Mommies," it could also include classic and popular novels with gay characters such as "The Color Purple," "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Brideshead Revisted."

The bill also would ban materials that recognize or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of Alabama. Allen said that meant books with heterosexual couples committing those acts likely would be banned, too.

His bill also would prohibit a teacher from handing out materials or bringing in a classroom speaker who suggested homosexuality was OK, he said.

Steve Brown, a local political science professor, believes that the "legislation stands little chance to legal scrutiny, it most likely stems from 'political hay' a legislator wants to make.

'Legislation is often introduced where everyone including the sponsor is well aware will never pass,' Brown said. 'They do it for the attention it garners.'" And there's no indication at this time that the bill has any co-sponsors or supporters.

Nevertheless, ALA has issued a denunciation from President Carol Brey-Casiano against the proposed bill.

And my spouse has devised his own method of protest:

Dear all, I ask you to join a protest against Gerald Allen, the legislator who wants to bury all books with homosexual main characters.

There's two steps:

Step One:
Let him know what he's trying to ban! Choose a worthwhile book that his proposed law would ban, and send it to him.

State House:
Rep. Gerald Allen
Room 531
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7758

District Address:
Rep. Gerald Allen
8200 Old Hargrove Road East
Cottondale, AL 35453
(205) 556-5310

The book that I've chosen to send him is Stranger At The Gate, the autobiography of Dr. Mel White, the former ghost writer for Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, and Jerry Falwell. (He has also published 15 other books under his own name, and created dozens of short, Christian films.)

Step Two:
Please spread the word. If you send a book to Rep. Gerald Allen, then copy this protest into your own blog and name the book. Or link to this entry in your blog.

With your help, he will see with his eyes what he's demanding to banish.

Take care, all.

For those of you who may be reluctant to sacrifice innocent (or even naughty) books to the cold, dark earth on behalf of this cause, you may want to devise your own activity of protest:

• Send bibliographies of GBLT materials from local schools, public libraries and university collections to Rep. Allen
• Send donations to LGBT centers in Alabama (perhaps under Rep. Allen's name?)
• Buy a copy (or 2 or 12) of a book from the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table's Stonewall Award lists and donate it to a school or public library or LGBT center, either in Alabama or in your local community ... again, in Rep. Allen's name, if you so wish
• Become active in your state's library association's intellectual freedom round table and/or committee

While Rep. Allen's proposal is extremely ambitious, it is, in essence, nothing new. It's part and parcel of a rather not uncommon mindset that homosexuality/queerness/etc. are phenomena wholly unfit for study or discussion (beyond condemnation) by or for minors, i.e. anyone under 18. Even if this bill never reaches the statehouse floor, the mindset behind it must be confronted if we are to uphold the principles of intellectual freedom.