Yesterday’s tragic school shooting in Nashville yesterday have brought my ire, disgust and sadness back in full force.

For the last several months, I’ve been angry about all the school libraries having to empty their shelves so they can be reviewed for “appropriateness.” And then, another school shooting.

Jodi Picoult, who has written over 28 novels said of these banned books (books pulled from shelves) ““What children are actually being exposed to are lives different from their own, and mindsets different from their own — which creates compassion and empathy. In other cases, children are being exposed to ideas and mindsets exactly like their own, which provides representation and validity and a sense of belonging. We know categorically that kids who feel marginalized and who read books with characters like themselves wind up feeling less marginalized.”

A year ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a Parental Rights in Education bill which has since resulted in books banned from public schools. A press release from his office said, “Legislation aims to ‘preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school.'”

Does that mean that, as a parent, I can chose which kind of assault weapon can and CANNOT be brought into my child’s classroom?

Governor DeSantis, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Gregg Abbot, et al. those who think it’s perfectly fine for a non-military citizen to own an assault weapon – Get your priorities straight.

Yes, parents want to, need to keep their children safe. But from what exactly? Let them read about the real world. The real world exists. Let them read about challenges and differences. But let’s keep them from experiencing the worst of it first hand.

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