NICE TRY

Judge Kills Ridiculous Obscenity Lawsuit Against ‘Gender Queer’ Memoir

The judge found that “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas do not meet the definition of obscene.

A lawsuit recently filed in Virginia Beach attempted to ban two books for obscenity: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. But the trial ended in dismissal, arguing that neither book was “obscene,” according to the legal definition. The lawsuit was filed by attorney and Virginia State Delegate Tim Anderson on behalf of client Tommy Altman, with the goal of removing books not just from schools but from private sale too. (The first lawsuit included a restraining order against Barnes & Noble; the second implicated Oni Press, the publisher of Gender Queer). Lawsuits like these have become fodder for debates in which right-wing groups accuse liberals of indoctrination, and are subsequently accused of infringing on free speech.