CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — On Tuesday, the group, All Rainbow and Allied Youth (ARAY) showed up to a Charlotte County school board meeting to stand against banning books.
At the meeting, there was no agenda item to discuss the district's decision to remove certain books, but members during public comment chose to use that time to share their opposition.
“Reading a book with a gay character will not make you gay any more than reading a book about Einstein will make you a genius,” said one speaker.
The group says the Charlotte County School District has removed 84 books from its public school shelves because they feature LGBTQ+ characters.
“By stifling information it enables students to learn about other people who might not be like them,” said another speaker.
On Tuesday, the school board chairman Cara Reynolds told Fox 4 she did not want to comment on the book bans.
At the regular school board meeting, no decisions were made or discussion followed the public input.
Fox 4 has reached out to each Charlotte County Board member for comment.
This is a developing story, check back for the latest updates.
