Leaders of the conservative “parent’s rights” in education movement that has painted a target on LGBTQ+ people nationwide as somehow grooming children into sexual exploitation proved on Sunday evening that they don’t know what they are upset about.
Two of the three co-founders of Moms for Liberty, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich were interviewed on CBS's 60 Minutes. The discussion was set against a backdrop of recent electoral outcomes where Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates faced significant defeats in school board elections across the United States last November. The elections were seen as a rejection of the conservative group’s stance against LGBTQ+ educational materials and its advocacy for parental rights to dictate school curricula, in what many took as a broader societal pushback against their agenda.
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The 60 Minutes segment, reported by Scott Pelley, delved into the contentious battle over book bans in public schools, a campaign propelled by Moms for Liberty. The group claims to fight for the survival of America by advocating for the banning of books they find objectionable, often focusing on content related to minority, gay, lesbian, or transgender characters. Pelley’s report highlights the case of Beaufort, S.C., a Republican-leaning district that found itself at the center of this debate when demands were made to ban 97 books, most of which were young adult novels with diverse characters.
During the interview, Justice and Descovich often resorted to talking points rather than directly addressing Pelley’s questions. For instance, when asked about the ideology they believe children are being indoctrinated into, Descovich deflected, “Let’s just say children in America cannot read,” shifting the focus to educational performance rather than the ideological content of books. Pelley noted, “You’re being evasive,” highlighting the co-founders’ reluctance to engage with the specifics of the allegations against them.
“They literally have to look at printed talking points,” wrote author Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, in reaction to the interview.
The segment also touched upon the aftermath of the school board’s decision in Beaufort to follow established procedures for book challenges, a move that led to threats against librarians and board members, part of a larger national story of book bans and the influence of groups like Moms for Liberty.
In their response to the 60 Minutes piece, Moms for Liberty criticized CBS for allegedly “censoring” the content of the books they discussed during the filming, suggesting that the omission was either due to potential FCC violations or deliberate editorial choices. They listed specific books, such as This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, arguing that exposing children to such content without parental consent could be considered “grooming,” though neither of them would admit to using the word despite claiming that Justice runs the group’s social media account.
The electoral defeats of Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates in states like Pennsylvania and Iowa revealed a broader public sentiment against their approach to education and LGBTQ+ issues.
Watch the 60 Minutes interview below.
Beaufort, SC, bans 5 books from school shelves after push to ban 97 | 60 Minuteswww.youtube.com
