Battle brews over LGBTQ+ books in Louisiana libraries

State's attorney general faces backlash after releasing report saying LGBTQ+ voices might be silenced in libraries

Louisiana's attorney general - a Republican gubernatorial candidate - is receiving backlash from LGBTQ+ activists after releasing a report recently that they say might silence LGBTQ+ voices in libraries.

The brewing fight over censorship in Louisiana's libraries has opened a new front in the culture war pitting political conservatives and the LGBTQ+ community. Far rightwingers across the US tried hundreds of times last year alone to ban more than 1,600 books with themes of gender or sexuality from public libraries, schools and universities, saying they wish to protect children from accessing them. But LGBTQ+ activists say there is no evidence that such material is readily available for children without the bans or that it primes minors to be harmed, and they are instead a tactic for conservatives to silence voices which offend their cultural values.