'Major Legal Victory': VA Judge Finds 'Probable Cause' That Gender ID Books Too Obscene for Minors

A Virginia Beach Circuit Court ruled that controversial gender identity books are obscene and access to minors should be restricted.

Attorney and Virginia State Delegate Tim Anderson filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tommy Altman, a parent who is concerned over the content in Maia Kobabe's book, Gender Queer: A Memoir. The 2016 book, A Court of Mist and Fury, is also listed in the lawsuit. 

"I am pleased to announce a major legal victory," Anderson shared in a Facebook post. "The Virginia Beach Circuit Court has found probable cause that the books Gender Queer and a Court of Mist and Fury are obscene to unrestricted viewing by minors." 

The attorney explained that litigation is not to ban the books, rather to see if they meet the "obscenity standards set forth in the Virginia Code."

He added, "While the case is moving forward, we are asking the Court to prohibit Barnes and Noble from selling the books directly to minors and from the schools allowing minors to have access to the materials without parental consent."

CBN News previously reported that Gender Queer was pulled from Virginia Beach public schools libraries after school board members determined that the book contained inappropriate images that were "pervasively vulgar."

The novel raised concerns last year over its graphic content that opponents say includes pornographic images and "pedophilia."

Parents like Stacy Langton, a Fairfax County mother of six, complained about Gender Queer on numerous occasions during school board meetings.

When Fairfax board members told Langton she shouldn't read the racy material out loud, she explained that they were proving her point. "Pornography is offensive to all people," she said. "It is offensive to common decency."

Langton told KABC News that she plans to follow Anderson's lead.

"This shows there's a higher authority," Langton told the media outlet. "There's another pathway here. And if a judge adjudicates it and rules the book to be obscene then, from my understanding, it would have to be removed (here) as it will be down in Virginia Beach schools."

In fact, the American Library Association lists Gender Queer as the number one most challenged book of 2021.

Attorney Anderson received dozens of comments from Facebook followers, thanking him for taking action.

"Way to go Attorney Tim Anderson! This is how it needs to be done!" wrote a follower.

Another follower commented, "Thank you for fighting for our kids and generations to come."

"Thank you Tim for working steadfastly to advise us & protect our children from the evil hunting them," said another follower.

In a comment emailed to CBN News, Barnes and Noble stated:

“As booksellers, we carry thousands of books whose subject matter some may find offensive. We live in a diverse society, and that diversity of opinion is reflected in the books we carry on our shelves that cater to the wide range of interests of our customers. We ask that our customers respect our responsibility to offer this breadth of reading materials, and respect also that, while they chose not to purchase many of these themselves, they may be of interest to others.”

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