Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Sam Yingling is among a group of Democratic lawmakers fighting to keep a young adult book that includes explicit illustrations of sexual acts on school library shelves.

“Movements to ban books are hallmark of repressive regimes,” Yingling posted on Twitter.  

The growing debate over the presence of certain books in school libraries recently spilled over into a Downers Grove school board meeting, WTTW reported, where residents and students openly voiced their opinions on the book “Gender Queer,” penned by Maia Kobabe.

Published in 2019, it includes illustrations of adults engaging in oral sex, according to the Kitsap Sun.

While those in attendance in Downers Grove represented both sides of the argument — a  junior in support of keeping the book in libraries stated, “Nothing in this book was new to me. We have already been stripped of our innocence completely, and one copy of the book in our library makes no difference to that" — the book has become a target of some politicians. and community members across the country.

That includes in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott has called on the state’s boards to remove books he described as “pornography” such as “Gender Queer,” the Texas Tribune reported.

Not long ago, a parent in Kitsap County, Wash., requested school officials be criminally prosecuted for distributing obscene material, labeling the book “graphic pornography to include pedophilia,” according to the Kitsap Sun. After a review, Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad Enright declined to file charges against librarians and other officials with the Central Kitsap School District for making the novel available, citing First Amendment considerations among other reasons.

Enright also wrote in his analysis that there were “multiple cases” establishing that the distribution of books like “Gender Queer” is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – and libraries are given additional protections.

“I appreciate your concern over this book and the placement of it in the library. However, we don’t believe this is a violation of the criminal code. Instead, this is an issue that is best dealt with through the school district,” he added.