Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Kamala Harris Says ‘Book Bans’ Make LGBT People ‘Afraid’ For Their Lives

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Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that so-called “book bans” make LGBT people fear for their lives.

Allegations of book banning started after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation protecting parental rights in Florida in March 2022, which led to schools pulling multiple books on the grounds of having explicit content, including “Gender Queer,” “Let’s Talk About It” and “It’s Perfectly Normal.” Parents across the country have raised objections to books with sexually explicit content in recent years.

“This fight is not over, when I look at the fact that in our country, we’re looking at somewhere around 600 bills being proposed or passed, anti-LGBTQ, book bans, a policy approach that is ‘don’t say gay,’ people in fear for their life, people afraid to be, to be!,” Harris said in front of the Stonewall Inn in New York City, the location of a violent protest that launched the modern gay rights movement.

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LGBT activists called the Florida legislation the “don’t say gay” law because it prohibited discussing sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade, and blocked schools from preventing teachers from informing parents about mental health issues in the wake of multiple cases across the country where schools started to secretly transition children.

In Montgomery County, Maryland, parents protested at the location of a county school board meeting over the removal of an “opt-out” for elementary-school reading materials involving LGBT themes, the Washington Times reported.

At least 16 states have banned or restricted sex change procedures on children, U.S. News reported. The American Civil Liberties Union has sued in multiple states to block the laws.

Some detransitioners, including Chloe Cole, have filed lawsuits against medical professionals who carried out so-called “gender-affirming” procedures when they were minors.