A federal judge in Colorado has sided with far-left activists over concerned parents, forcing the Elizabeth School District to return 19 books—including those pushing graphic sexual content and radical ideologies—to school library shelves.
Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, appointed by Joe Biden, issued a preliminary injunction mandating the district immediately reinstate books such as The Bluest Eye, The Hate U Give, and George—now Melissa—despite clear concerns from school board members and parents about their explicit, politically charged, and age-inappropriate content.
According to CBS News, the Elizabeth School Board voted to remove certain books from school libraries, citing concerns over graphic violence, racism, and discrimination, depictions of self-harm or mental illness, and sexual content in August 2024.
Here is the list of books removed from the Elizabeth School District, according to 9News:
- “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
- “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
- “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
- “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini
- “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Leah Johnson
- “#Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights” by Rebecca Felix
- “George” (now published and referred to as “Melissa”) by Alex Gino
- “It’s Your World—If You Don’t Like It, Change It” by Mikki Halpin
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
- “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher
- “Looking for Alaska” by John Green
- “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult
- “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Glass” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Fallout” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Burned” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Redwood and Ponytail” by K.A. Holt.
But that wasn’t good enough for the plaintiffs—a coalition of activist students, their parents, the NAACP, and the Authors Guild—who cried “censorship” and ran to federal court.
Judge Sweeney, in her 45-page ruling, concluded that the school board’s actions violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors alike, declaring that the books were removed “because of the authors’ and books’ content and viewpoints on issues such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBTQ content,” rather than educational concerns.
“Plaintiffs have shown that the District removed the 19 books based on the authors’ and books’ content and viewpoints on issues such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBTQ content, and to promote the Board’s self-proclaimed ‘conservative values,’” Sweeney wrote.
The judge dismissed the board’s argument that it was protecting students from inappropriate material, writing, “Other than pretextual declarations, at this stage, there simply is no reason to believe that the books were removed because of vulgarity, age-inappropriateness, or for legitimate pedagogical concerns.”
Sweeney added that “parents want to remove books for partisan reasons does not permit government officials to do the same. Even assuming, as the District suggests, that the majority of parents wish to remove certain books based on their conservative beliefs, the First Amendment “offers sweeping protection” for those authors and readers who may adhere to the minority view. “In fact, it is the minority view, including expressive behavior that is deemed distasteful and highly offensive to the vast majority of people, that most often needs protection under the First Amendment.”
Read the ruling below:
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