Homophobic Parents Freak Over LGBTQ Library Books in Virginia Schools

Right-wing parents in a Virginia school district have protested a decision to make such LGBTQ-friendly children's books as Heather Has Two Mommies available.

"It is 100 percent a political agenda," Loudoun County mother Natassia Grover told The Washington Post.

Now groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are defending the schools in a fight that seems reminiscent of the 1980s and '90s.

"Passing judgments, applying labels, and red-flagging educational materials that might prompt uncomfortable but insightful discussions are activities that do not belong in our public schools," reads a letter from the ACLU to the school district.

Still, the group Parent and Child Loudoun has lashed out at the presentation of diversity as something positive. The group encourages parents to "challenge" the inclusion of certain books in the library inventory.

"Parent and Child Loudoun is working on an assessment of these books and will update the following lists as books are reviewed," reads the organization's website.

Said lists include My Princess Boy, a 2010 true story written by Cheryl Kilodavis about her son Dyson, who at 5 years old wanted to wear princess dresses. The antibullying story is now available at Loudoun County schools for kindergarteners, something Parent and Child Loudoun finds objectionable.

"I really have a problem with people teaching children that it's possible to be born in the wrong body," Grover said.

The arrival of the books comes as part of a "diverse classroom libraries" effort by the Loudoun County schools to expose children to stories of different cultures, races, religions, and sexual orientations.

District-level administrators approved the list of books and informed schools the diverse collections would arrive during the school year, but parents have delivered pushbacks since the arrival of books like Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, featured by The Advocate as one of the top transgender books of 2014.

The controversy has sparked hours of debate with the local school board.

"Clearly we should have communicated earlier and with more specifics with principals, parents, and the school board," Ashley F. Ellis, assistant superintendent for instruction, said during a meeting in October.

During the same meeting, a parent decried Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit as porn.

School officials have emphasized that the books are not required reading, but they are now reviewing 10 of the books, including at least four with LGBTQ characters, the Post reports.