Ridgeland Mayor's Plan To Ban 'Homosexual Materials' From Library Inspires UM Religion Talk
OXFORD, Miss.University of Mississippi student Sara Giray doesnt remember reading about any gay couples in books growing up, but she remembers years of school-required readings that centered around heterosexual couplesin everything from Marie Lus Legend, to Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet.
Her college hosted a brown bag Religion for Lunch conversation on Feb. 1, 2022, to discuss Ridgeland (Miss.) Mayor Gene McGees decision to refuse the Madison County Library System its funding unless the staff agrees to purge LGBTQ+ books from their shelves, a story the Mississippi Free Press originally reported.
Its unethical to just provide that portion, Giray said at the event, explaining that it is only fair to show both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. How are you supposed to identify yourself if you dont ever see yourself?
If you dont centralize other viewpointsoutside of heteronormative, societally acceptable sort-of viewpointsyoure putting a lot of youth at risk of things like depression, suicide and so forth, Giray said.
Read more: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/20478/ridgeland-mayors-plan-to-ban-homosexual-materials-from-library-inspires-um-religion-talk/