Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) is a highly esteemed figure, renowned for his incisive wit and dry sense of humor.
He has continued to demonstrate these qualities throughout his tenure in the Senate, from questioning Biden nominees to participating in interviews with reporters.
Today, he put his skills to use again during a Senate hearing focused on “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature,” which addressed school boards removing books with LGBTQ content from libraries.
Kennedy’s line of questioning at the hearing caused a stir, as he read from two books, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “Gender Queer: A Memoir”.
This left Democratic witnesses such as Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Cameron Samuels, who uses “they/them” pronouns and had a placard with the title “Mx. Cameron Samuels”, completely taken aback.
The most noteworthy exchange was between Kennedy and Giannoulias, resulting in the latter making a devastating admission during Kennedy’s interrogation.
Kennedy commenced his address by citing passages from the texts “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “Genderqueer,” respectively.
Please be advised that the following video contains potentially upsetting content.
Sen. Kennedy reads passages from pornographic books Genderqueer and All Boys are Blue.
The Illinois Sec. of State Alexi Giannoulias responds by saying "those words are disturbing coming from your mouth."
His state's new law stops parents from being able to remove it from… pic.twitter.com/eDehdhctQL
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 12, 2023
Kennedy then posed a question to Giannoulias: “Are you suggesting that only the librarians should decide whether the two books I just referenced should be available to kids?” Greg Price has highlighted Illinois’ new law which prevents parents from taking such books out of school libraries.
Kennedy’s inquiry indicated his concern regarding these reading materials, thus verifying the apprehensions of concerned parents.
Kennedy: Don’t give me a speech. Tell me what you are saying.
Giannoulias: With all due respect Senator, the words you just spoke are disturbing coming out of your mouth.
Kennedy has done the nation a great service by addressing the issue of book censorship. Giannoulias and his supporters’ arguments for allowing pornographic books to be placed in libraries without parental approval have been weakened.
The Illinois Secretary of State himself has stated that he finds the content of these books disturbing as an adult, so it is reasonable to assume they would also be inappropriate for minors.
It is concerning how many young minds may have already been exposed to this material.
ICYMI: Obama Gets Clobbered Online After Praising Librarians Advocating Racy Books For Kids