Here is Jim Blue's statement to the Charlotte County School Board regarding the policy on banning books in the District's libraries:
Banned! At least 300 books this year have been banned in Florida schools. Among them: “Gender Queer” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue.” and “Tango Makes Three.” Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer-winning novel “Beloved” and Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Testaments.”
Banned!
Many of the banned books have LGBTQ themes or characters.
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and the follow-up legislation are bad laws. They are vague. They demonized teachers and marginalized vulnerable children.
It is beyond disgusting that librarians could be charged with felonies if they simply recommend books to children who have questions about gender or sex. And, in erring on the “side of caution”, our Charlotte County schools made the laws worse.
So, let’s fix this.
For myself, I plan to work as hard as I can to get the state laws repealed. I urge our county citizens to join in that campaign.
And please, please, school board members, create clear, courageous policies to at least make the laws less damaging.
When it comes to our schools, our teachers, our librarians and our students,“Erring on the side of caution” is not prudent, it’s complicit.
Incumbent Dist. 76 Rep. Spencer Roach is an Enemy of Local Power
During the 2023 session, Roach mainly did the bidding of big donors, seeking pre-emptive laws denying local governments’ power. He sponsored a bill that would allow developers to demolish “non-conforming” real estate in historic districts like Punta Gorda’s and build shiny high-density housing bearing no resemblance to the surrounding neighborhood.
He sponsored another bill that would allow “drone ports” to be built at Walmarts, buzzing their neighbors with high-tech delivery bots. And local governments would have no say about it. No kidding!
Those are just two among 60 bills filed by legislators in this session to take away local control.
Why would Roach want to rip away home rule? Follow the money.
According to Transparency USA, Roach has been scurrying about soliciting campaign contributions from out-of-area developers, gambling interests, and beer distributors. So far, almost 100-thousand dollars just for the 2024 election.
In the 2022 election, Roach reaped more than 320-thousand from donors, even though he was unopposed.
Rep. Roach won’t thrive in the daylight. Vote him out!