Unjust book banning

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 9, 2005) -- State lawmakers urged library officials to restrict childrens access to books with homosexual themes by an overwhelming margin on Monday.
House Resolution 1039, by State Rep. Sally Kern, calls on Oklahoma libraries to confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution.

This petition has been started in regards to the recent rejection, banning and removal of homosexuality-based books from Oklahoma public library's childrens section.. Such an action is a direct violation of the United States Constitution which states in the first amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." By withdrawing these peices of literature, the library board is infringeing on this amendment by not allowing people to express their work to all people, and not allowing those people to read said books.
This new law also states that a childs development should be at the discretion of a childs parents free from interference from the distribution of inappropriate publicly cataloged materials and that public libraries should not expose children to material that may be deemed harmful and inappropriate. Exposing children to homosexuality is no different from exposing them to the responsibility of heterosexuality, which is often forced on young children.
There are some issues little children arent emotionally equipped to tackle and many parents believe the issue of sexual preference is one of them, said Kern, R-Oklahoma City. Expecting six-year-olds to deal with the issue of sexuality is about as realistic as expecting them to carry a 100-pound backpack to school every day. Parents have a right to know that certain books deal with age-sensitive issues and decide for themselves if their child is ready to read those materials.
Banning this genre of literature is simply an act of a few people's opinions, disregarding what other's might think or believe. Homosexuality is commonly treated as something that is a choice for people to deal with, when in reality, it's not. It is also not something people can be lured into or taught to be. Many congressmen/women fail or simply refuse to acknoledge this fact, therefore, making many desisions based on personal preference and not on what is morally right for the rest of their community. A statement from a local news interview confirms that.
"Children need to be protected from homosexuality untill they are old enough to decern between right and wrong."
This statement screams the idea that homosexuality is something to be avoided and viewed as wrong and immoral, which promotes all the common missconceptions about homosexuality.

In starting this petition, I hope to gain the support of other Oklahomans in making those who make our laws and represent us in government actions realize that by passing this law, they are injustly making a descision that only fuels the ignorance many people insist on instilling in others about this subject and a descision that is based on a large bias in disapproval and rejection of homosexuality.