Texas Governor Greg Abbott has stepped up his effort to rid school library shelves of books he considers inappropriate.
He's written a letter to state agencies, asking them to develop statewide standards to ensure no child is exposed to any inappropriate content in a Texas public school. Abbott singled out two books, both dealing with sexuality.
Clay Robison with the Texas State teachers association says: "The witch hunt is continuing."
He finds it suspect that "Gender Queer: a Memoir" by Maia Kobabe (Maya Ko-babe) and "In the Dream House: by Carmen Maria Machado deal with gay issues.
"There are a lot of gay children in public schools and there is nothing pornographic about them," Robison said.
He says there is nothing pornographic about these books.
"Many conservative parents who complained about these books are uncomfortable with them," Robison said. "Just because someone with gay rights issues or uncomfortable with books about gays does not make them pornographic."
"The bottom line is they are attacking public education and educators. There are already procedures in place in school districts to review books and deal with books that some parents or school board members may find objectionable."
He also believes this is politically motivated. Abbott recently sided with state representative Matt Krause, who published a list of 850 books he deemed inappropriate. Those books dealt with racism, gender identity and expression, and reproductive rights. Krause is running for Texas Attorney General and Abbott is running for re-election.
Read Governor Abbott's letter here.
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