The Personal Cost of "Ban that Book!"

Full text available on Cultural Weekly

In Alabama, a state quickly surpassing Arizona in reactionary responses to anything (and anyone) deemed “Un-American,” state lawmaker Gerald Allen wants to ban books. His main target is books (fiction and non-fiction) which represent gay or lesbian characters who portray homosexuality as normal. Allen reasons (and I use the term lightly) that if people – particularly young people – read a book in which the main character is a well-adjusted gay person then the reader will become gay. And this will inevitably lead to the end of heterosexuality, the end of marriage and usher in the demise of our country’s civilization and status as a world super power.