In the October 2021 BoE meeting, I spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. To the Board members, I said the following:

Imagine you’re in a diner, and you’ve just ordered a cake. Now, a cake isn’t usually on the menu. Usually, it’s pie. Cherry pie, lemon pie, blueberry pie, all types of pie. It’s not that you particularly dislike pie, but you want cake tonight. The waiter comes through and as the plate is about to lower towards you, someone from the next table says, “Waiter, cancel that cake.” Of course, you’re surprised. How does this person have the audacity to cancel your cake? The waiter, however, leaves with your cake. You ask this stranger why they wanted your cake taken, and they look at you as if you’re unreasonable. “I didn’t want any cake.” You’re confused yet again. They didn’t have to eat the cake- it was for you, not them. You chose to have the cake, and they chose not to. Why did their choice have to affect yours?
Now, I’m sure we all think that this story is clear. They shouldn’t have canceled your cake, and your waiter shouldn’t have taken it away. Let’s imagine this again. You’re in a library, and you’ve just chosen a book about two men in love. There are plenty of books about men and women in love, but today, you’re more interested in reading about two men in love or two women. As you’re about to check the book out and leave to read, someone says, “Excuse me, don’t let them read that.” The library has its controversial books taken away, stopping you from reading about it. You didn’t want to read about heterosexual couples- you wanted to read about homosexual couples. You didn’t want to eat any pie- you wanted to have some cake.
It’s your personal choice not to have any cake. It’s your personal choice not to read about LGBTQ+ people or sexual scenes. That doesn’t mean everyone has to avoid it with you. Just because we’re children does not mean that we don’t have opinions. We want to eat our cake, eat our pie, and have choices.
Some are concerned that having sexually explicit books in school makes it unsafe for their child. However, this overlooks the simple fact that no one is mandated to read that book. None of the books mentioned are centered around sex- they’re centered around LGBTQ+ teenagers figuring out who they are and growing up. It’s inevitable that there will be books you dislike. Acknowledge it and move on.
Please, listen to the opinions of students, and let us keep our books.

Concerning specifically This Book is Gay, the point still holds true. As stated in 'Notes for Board from Book Committee,' the book is not mandated to be read. They wrote, "This book is not part of our classroom curriculum and is not being taught or assigned in the classroom."

Opinions are formed based on three main factors. Our environment or experiences, the people around us, and our education. When you’re cisgender and heterosexual, you don’t know what it’s like to be LGBTQ+. You don’t have that experience. That means you either educate yourself about it or seek knowledge from someone you respect. If no one you know is LGBTQ+, then you need to read books to learn. Taking away these books will lead to ignorance, and for those of you who don’t know, ignorance leads to hate. If you have the privilege to learn about these topics -homophobia, transphobia- then you never had to experience it.

Parents have told me that their issue is not with the gay content in the book, but rather with the sexual scenes. Of the books listed in the previous meeting, none are focused on sex. Sex is mentioned, yes, and there are vulgar words- no one is denying that. Many others and I agree that these books should stay. Are they morally correct? That entirely depends on who you ask. However, that does not mean they should be taken.

According to the Williams Institute, School of Law, there are an estimated 9 million LGBTQ+ Americans. As This Book is Gay eloquently states, "You almost certainly know an LGBT* person, even if you aren’t aware of it.” These people are important, and they deserve to have an education that applies to their personal lives. This Book is Gay serves as a 'guide' for that purpose.

In LGBTQ+ slang, being 'in the closet' refers to hiding the fact that the subject is part of the LGBTQ+ community. There are so many people in the closet, even as you read this paragraph. Very few people want to be in the closet.

Denice Frohman wrote a poem titled 'Dear Straight People,' and a certain excerpt from this poem is important to be shared now.

"Dear Straight People,
You’re the reason we stay in the closet.
You’re the reason we even have a closet.
I don’t like closets, but you made the living room an unshared space
and now I’m feeling like a guest in my own house."

Homophobia is caused by ignorance. There are articles about unique pheromones and their tie to lesbians. There are articles about the brain structure of transgender people. There are articles about the science, which gives a clinical explanation, but there is something undeniably irreplaceable about the humanity of it all.

LGBTQ+ people are more than statistics, science, and social controversies. We are people with our own lives, stories, and experiences. This Book is Gay focuses not on the numbers but on the emotions felt by so many people within the rainbow. The art of humanizing the stories of experiences that some people can never find on their own is important. These stories, however, cannot be cited, because as stated before, these are not concrete facts. These are repeated feelings from an entire community, and this book is trying to prepare the newly welcomed members.

History will repeat and experiences will be shared, whether This Book is Gay is banned or not. The point of preserving the book's place in the NHV libraries is to prepare the reader for what they may experience. The point of sharing these stories is to stifle the ignorance passed through generations. This book is meant to educate on human emotion, so allow people to choose to read it.