Virginia lawmaker calls on Barnes & Noble, schools to stop selling, lending ‘Gender Queer’ book to minors
Virginia attorney says Barnes & Noble and Virginia Beach schools should not sell or loan the books 'Gender Queer' and 'A Court of Mist and Fury' to minors
A Virginia lawmaker is seeking a restraining order to prevent bookstore Barnes & Noble as well as Virginia Beach Schools from selling or loaning the books "Gender Queer" and "A Court of Mist and Fury," alleging the books have "obscene" content.
Tim Anderson, an attorney and state delegate, said in a tweet on Wednesday that the Virginia Beach Circuit Court found probable cause that the books "Gender Queer" and "A Court of Mist and Fury" are "obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors."
Anderson said that his client, Tommy Altman, has directed his law office to seek a restraining order against Virginia Beach Schools and Barnes & Noble to "enjoin them from selling or loaning these books to minors without parent consent."
The lawmaker and lawyer pointed to screenshots of several portions of both books that use sexual language.
People walk outside the Barnes & Noble book store on Fifth Avenue as New York City moves into Phase 2 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic on June 30, 2020. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images / Getty Images)
He said that "we are in a major fight."
"We are in a major fight. Suits like this can be filed all over Virginia. There are dozens of books. Hundreds of schools," Anderson said.
The book "Gender Queer" includes graphic pictures of sexual acts that take place between a boy and a man, which has drawn concern from many parents around Virginia.
Stacy Langton, a Fairfax County mother, previously told Fox News that the book contains "literal pornography."
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"You can have supportive books to the LGBTQ community, and I’m not looking to eliminate those," Langton said. "It's literal pornography, that's the problem."
The book, "Gender Queer: A Memoir," by Maia Kobabe, is an autobiography that "charts eir journey of self-identity."
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"In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em," a book description on Amazon states.
FOX Business has reached out to Barnes & Noble and Virginia Beach Schools.
Fox News' Tyler O'Neil contributed to this report.