Gay Penguins Banned with no Review

Here at AS IF!, we've often said that it is always a mistake, one with terrible consequences, when a library or school district bans a book without following an existing policy or, worse, when no actual policy exists.

And Tango Makes Three, the "gay penguin" book, has been banned in North Carolina. And boy, was the review policy not followed:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Superintendent Peter Gorman and his top lieutenants have ordered a picture book about presumably gay penguins removed from school libraries, the first time Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has banned a book in more than a decade.

But Gorman said Tuesday he'll let a committee review the decision after Charlotte Observer questions revealed he and his staff sidestepped CMS policy.

The ban came from a miscommunication between him and his chief of staff, Robert Avossa, Gorman said. "I screwed this one up."

"And Tango Makes Three," the real-life story of "the very first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies," has drawn objections in schools or public libraries in seven states.

All decided to keep the book, according to the American Library Association. Charlotte-Mecklenburg's public library has also rejected a request to remove it, a spokeswoman said.

CMS pulled the penguin love story without a formal complaint. Gorman said a couple of parents had asked him about the book, in which two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo pair up and hatch an adopted egg, and Republican county commissioner Bill James had e-mailed him.

James said he read an online article about the book and asked Gorman if CMS libraries had it. "I am opposed to any book that promotes a homosexual lifestyle to elementary school students as normal," he said.

Four of CMS's 93 elementaries - Eastover, Hickory Grove, Mallard Creek and Myers Park Traditional - had the book.

On Nov. 30, top CMS administrators Ruth Perez, Ronald Dixon and Gloria Miller sent a memo to principals and media specialists explaining the decision to ban the book from all schools.

"First, it is a picture book that focuses on homosexuality. Second, we did not feel that such information was vital to primary students. Next, we did not believe the book would stimulate growth in ethical standards, and the book is too controversial."

Banning books is controversial, too.

"One parent's decision shouldn't dictate whether or not the book is available to all the other families in the community," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the American Library Association. "Any challenge to a book is ultimately an attempt to remove an idea from public discourse."

Banning "Tango" is a bad idea, she said, and doing it without an open, balanced review is worse. READ ON