Christopher Smithson: Book restrictions should be a concern for conservatives

Banning books is not a good look for Escambia County Schools.

I’ve read with much concern the recent headlines in newspapers across our state detailing the wave of book restrictions in Florida.

As a conservative and registered Republican, I find few political issues more important than protecting our constitutional rights and liberties.

Unfortunately, there has been an alarming amount of unconstitutional activity in our Florida schools — and it’s coming from fellow conservatives.

Since last year, a small number of parents and teachers have marched into school board meetings and demanded the removal of hundreds of books, many of which have been on library shelves for years. I believe all parents should supervise their child’s reading, but this behavior goes well beyond that. It’s unconstitutional and downright un-American.

One parent has no right to determine what’s appropriate for every other child in the classroom. I’ll parent my child; you parent yours.

I also can’t help but notice some of the books being targeted happen to reference or have gay characters in them. Why does the existence of a gay character give a parent the right to censor that book from all other students?

The Republican Party is supposed to be the party that fights for the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Not the “Nanny State” party that shelters students from the real world — where, yes, people have opinions that differ from ours and gay people exist.

As conservatives, we can do better. Let’s leave the censorship antics to others.

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Dr. Christopher Smithson is a veterinarian living in Hillsborough County.