- Catching dodgy dumpers
- Trump rehashes gripes, rips 'radical' Dems in 2020 launch
- City's free Summer Meal program for kids, teens returns
- White House will assert immunity for Hope Hicks during congressional testimony
- Murphy blasts business tax incentive program, calls it 'rigged'
- Report: Clean energy jobs account for nearly 1 out of every 3 energy jobs in Pa.
- Mastery principal resigns amid hit-and-run charges; trial goes to higher court
- Netflix announces 2 more seasons of 'Queer Eye'
- Wolf vetoes school tax credit bill
- Couple on trial for murder, accused of beating 4-year-old to death for spilling cereal
- Williams calls on Wolf to declare state of emergency over Philadelphia gun violence
- Camden introduces markers to remember its part in slave trade
- Rides at Six Flags Great Adventure now run on solar energy
- Where will the 8th annual Diner en Blanc take place? Clues are in the theme
- Forgotten warriors: Recognizing the black soldiers of D-Day
- Weather threat continues as hard-hit Bucks County recovers from storms
- It's liftoff in North Philly as students fly drones built in engineering class
- Summer get its unofficial start as ocean seekers hit the Shore
- Camden homeless shelter is expanding — both in size and services
- Habitat for Humanity building 20 affordable homes in Sharswood
LGBTQ literature makes up more than half of 11 most banned books in U.S.
MaskaRad/Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Banning books is nothing new, but a recent study shows one genre is targeted more than others.
LGBTQ books make up more than half of the 11 most banned books in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
"I think it's a type of bigotry and discrimination that LGBTQ people face," said Alan Chelak with Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room, the oldest LGBTQ book store in the country.
Chelak says he has an idea why there's an uptick in these banned books at public libraries.
"In the past there weren't very many of those books around, and now it's almost like a renaissance," he said.
Related:
He says even though the books are facing a tough fight at public institutions, he's seeing more publishers pick up authors who tell stories with LGBTQ themes.
"That's why small, independent LGBTQ book stores are important, because nobody can really come in and say, 'I don't want my children reading these types of books,' because one the reasons the book store exists is to make sure those types of books are available for people who want to read them," he said.
The American Library Association has a list of frequently banned books.