A Massachusetts police department reportedly searched a middle school for a copy of the controversial gender ideology book “Gender Queer,” according to multiple reports.
The Great Barrington Police Department reportedly received a complaint this month about a book with “concerning illustrations” that was available to children. The person who complained provided the police with photos of sexual acts illustrated in the book, according to KATU.
The police searched a classroom at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School on Dec. 8 for the book. A police officer was reportedly told that the book was “not there and could not be accounted for at that time.”
The police department faced backlash from the community for searching for the book. In response, the police chief, Paul Storti, issued a statement.
"I promise you our actions were not meant to disenfranchise anyone or influence school curriculum," Storti wrote in a statement. "I wish to emphasize again to our residents, teachers, students and wider community that it is not our role to seek out, censor or 'ban books' in our schools."
Townhall has previously reported how the book “Gender Queer” has been at the center of controversy at many school districts. In the recent debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), DeSantis brought a copy to the debate.
“I actually have something that I brought that some parents have objected to. So this is a book that's in some of the schools in California. Florida - this is not consistent with our standards - called Gender Queer. Some of it’s blacked out. You would not probably be able to put this on air,” DeSantis said as he held up pages from the book.
“This is pornography. It's cartoons. It's aimed at children, and it's wrong. So this should not be in schools. When people like on the left, say that somehow you're banning books by removing this from a young kids classroom. No, this is not age appropriate. And so we're gonna stand for the rights of parents. I think we need to do that nationwide. I don't think you can have a situation where some states just trample on the rights of parents. Parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their kids,” DeSantis added.
This is a book that’s in some of the schools in California.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
This is pornography. It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children — and it’s wrong.
This should not be in schools. pic.twitter.com/XjM1QMrCJQ
In July, Townhall covered how the explicit book was being pushed by the nation’s largest teachers union. The author, Maia Kobe, uses “e/em/eir” pronouns. And, the publisher’s website noted that the book “started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual.”
🚨The NEA — the largest teachers union in America — is recommending that teachers read "Gender Queer" for their summer reading.
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) July 3, 2023
This is who we’re up against in our fight against indoctrination in K-12 classrooms.https://t.co/M49GpWkz1u
Earlier this month, Townhall reported how a Democrat member of a school board in Fairfax County, Virginia was sworn in on a stack of LGBTQ+ themed books, one of them being “Gender Queer.”