George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene Sign on to Book Ban Bill

Serial liar and gay Republican George Santos has joined homophobe and transphobe Marjorie Taylor Greene in cosponsoring a bill that could be used to censor LGBTQ-themed books in schools.

Santos and Greene, both members of the U.S. House of Representatives, have signed on to House Resolution 863, introduced last week. Republican Rep. Cory Mills, its lead sponsor, says its purpose is “to end the sexualization of children in schools.”

The bill’s full text isn’t available online yet, but a summary says it would “prohibit a publishing house from knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency” and “prohibit Federal funds from being provided to a school that obtains or an educational agency that distributes sexually explicit material, and for other purposes.”

Usually, when right-wing politicians mention “sexually explicit material,” that definition includes not just sex acts but anything that deals with LGBTQ+ identity. There have been many moves recently to ban or restrict LGBTQ-inclusive books in public libraries and school districts.

“The battlefield for the future of our society is being fought within the classrooms of American schools,” Mills, a freshman congressman from Florida, wrote on his website. “This bill targets the Left’s efforts to sexualize children in schools across the U.S. From school board meetings to new representation in local, state, and federal levels, Americans are waking up to the grim reality of woke indoctrination guised as a normal education. No more.”

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on the Judiciary. Cosponsors, in addition to Santos and Greene, are Reps. Anthony D’Esposito of New York, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Gregory Murphy of North Carolina. All, unsurprisingly, are Republicans.

Mills, who flipped his north-central Florida district from Democratic to Republican in last year’s election, made headlines in January by handing out inert grenades as a welcoming gesture to his fellow House members, along with a note saying, “Let’s come together and get to work on behalf of our constituents.” There is a ban on weapons in the halls of Congress, but members have an exception.

Still, Mills’s action shocked many, including Democratic Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut, who tweeted, “Not even George Santos could make this up.

Santos, who defeated gay Democrat Robert Zimmerman to win a New York congressional seat last year, has been caught in lies about his work experience, education, and more. He has also been accused of sexual harassment, fraud, and other unsavory actions, and is under investigation. There have been calls for his resignation.

Greene, a far-right Georgia congresswoman who has promoted many conspiracy theories and outright lies, has claimed Democrats hate Santos simply because he’s a gay Republican. Santos and Mills were among those attending a Young Republican Club event in New York City in December at which Greene famously said that if she and right-wing activist Steve Bannon had led the insurrection of January 6, 2021, they would have been armed and it would have succeeded.