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Oklahoma House Passes Anti–Gay Lit ResolutionThe Oklahoma House passed 81–3 a nonbinding resolution May 9 asking public libraries “to confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution.” The resolution explains that because “children need guidance and protection by adults to ensure their maturation is timely” parents should be “free from interference from the distribution of inappropriate publicly cataloged materials.”HR 1039 was introduced by Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City), who released a statement after the resolution’s passage that affirmed lawmakers are “not looking to ban any books” but merely acknowledging that “there are some issues little children aren’t emotionally equipped to tackle, and many parents believe the issue of sexual preference is one of them.” Kern’s interest in the issue stemmed from a complaint from two constituents that their youngster had borrowed from the children’s section of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System’s Warr Acres branch the gay-positive picture book King and King—which was the number-eight title on the 2004 most-challenged books list compiled by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Two days after the resolution passed, the Tulsa City-County Library System moved King and King, as well as books about topics such as divorce and death, into a newly created parenting section in a corner of its children’s department. Decrying the resolution as “trying to limit the right of what people can read,” Tulsa library CEO Linda Saferite added in the May 13 Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, “Serving an entire community is a balancing act.” Kern’s May 9 statement also cited an April statewide poll of 500 Oklahoma voters in which 88% of respondents said that only parents should decide whether their children should see gay-themed literature and 46% supported withholding funds from public libraries that provide unfettered access. In an apparent response to that poll, Kern and Rep. Tad Jones (R-Claremore) cautioned May 13 that they would seek the withholding of $841,000 in additional funds the state library had requested for FY 2006 unless libraries comply with HR 1039, NBC’s Oklahoma City affiliate KFOR-TV reported. Posted May 13, 2005. |
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