March condemns Louisiana Attorney General and book bans
New Orleans, LA – On Sunday morning, February 12, about 30 protesters gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel to rally against LGBTQ book bans. They then marched down Canal Street to the Main Library. Sunday was a parade day during Mardi Gras, when protests are usually rare because of the traffic and attention of the city’s carnival season.
It was the first day of the Republican Attorneys General Association conference at the five-star venue, which Louisiana AG Jeff Landry attended. The previous Tuesday, Landry released a report fear-mongering about libraries distributing “pornography.” He singled out nine specific LGBTQ-themed and age-appropriate teen books about anatomy and relationships. That same day, State Senator Heather Cloud pre-filed a bill that would ban these and similar books in Louisiana libraries.
Protesters recognized this as part of a billionaire-funded, nationally coordinated backlash against the LGBTQ movement. The Real Name Campaign, the organization leading the march, stated: “SB7 comes on the heels of a national assault on the rights and dignity of trans people in red states around the country. It also coincides with racist attacks on Black studies programs and anti-racist literature around the country.”
Marchers chanted “Jeff Landry can’t you tell? Book banners go to hell!” and “Two, four, six eight – stop the book bans in our state!”