After needing to reschedule their April 3rd meeting due to needing a larger venue to accommodate the audience, Deckerville’s Library Board held their meeting on Thursday, April 6, hearing about 14 public comments regarding the keeping or banning of the book, “Gender Queer: a Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe.
The book, which is at the center of several book bans across the country, is described by author Kobabe as “[originally] a way to explain to family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, [but] more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity.” Detractors, however, insist that it’s pornography and promoting pedophilia, as the graphic novel depicts explicit illustrations, as Kobabe writes about their life and sexual exploration in the graphic novel.
The book, which was the U.S.’ most banned book in 2021, is currently the subject of a similar outcry in Lapeer, with Caro voting 6-0 in March to keep the book on its shelves. It is unclear who was the first to learn the book was in the Deckerville Public Library, but almost all of the public comments at the Thursday meeting were against the book.
Some citizens insisted on a total ban of the book, while others said to instead put it out of reach of children and in the adult section of the library. While one citizen said they planned to file a formal Freedom of Information Act request to learn who bought or requested the book for the library, several of the other public comments were accompanied with formal citizen requests to remove the book. The requests would need the Deckerville Library Board review the book and vote among the six board members on whether to retain the book or not. While Lapeer’s librarian has until May 16 to make her decision regarding keeping or getting rid of the book, Deckerville’s Library Board will be meeting again on Monday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m.
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