BREAKING: SUPREME COURT CENSORS BOOKS AND ATTACKS PUBLIC EDUCATION IN MAHMOUD V. TAYLOR BOOK BAN CASE; GLAAD, AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS RESPOND

Two Children’s Books, About a Gay Prince and a Gay Wedding, Co-Published by GLAAD and Little Bee Books, Impacted By Ruling

Justice  Sotomayor’s dissent: “The majority’s myopic attempt… reveals its failure to accept and account for a fundamental truth: LGBTQ people exist. They are part of virtually every community and workplace of any appreciable size.” 

(June 27, 2025 – New York, NY) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding today to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In a 6-3 vote, the Court ruled in favor of a preliminary injunction for a small group of parents who challenged a Maryland school district’s decision to include children’s books with LGBTQ characters and themes in their classrooms, claiming that exposure to the books violates the families’ freedom of religion.

Authors and illustrators whose children’s books were named in the case also released a joint statement today, provided below.

The Court orders the Montgomery School District to notify the plaintiff parents in advance whenever one of the children’s books in question or any other similar book is to be used in any way and to allow them to have their children excused from that instruction. The school district had testified about the negative impact this a-la-carte public education system had on learning environments and taxpayer resources.

Of the nine titles named in the case, two of the children’s books were co-published by GLAAD and Little Bee Books, Prince & Knight and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. (Images and copies of the book available to media from GLAAD).

GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued the following statement:

“Today’s ruling will limit freedom and equality for all Americans. While six members of the Supreme Court would like to censor LGBTQ American families, they will not succeed in silencing us or our stories. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent: ‘LGBTQ people exist. They are part of virtually every community and workplace.’

“The Supreme Court decided long ago that separate is not equal in the classroom, but now prioritizes the rights of a small group to segregate from the reality that LGBTQ families are in our schools and community.

“Six justices on today’s Supreme Court have mainstreamed government overreach by playing the role of parent and interfering in local school control, blatantly favoring some families and some religious beliefs above others. Put plainly, banning books is unconstitutional and un-American, and an assault on the freedom to read and learn.”

JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR’S DISSENT

In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor quotes a 1987 opinion describing public schools as “at once the symbol of our democracy and the most pervasive means for promoting our common destiny.” That idea “will become a mere memory,” she argues, “if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents’ religious beliefs.”

The dissent also notes: “The majority’s myopic attempt to resolve a major constitutional question through close textual analysis of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding also reveals its failure to accept and account for a fundamental truth: LGBTQ people exist. They are part of virtually every community and workplace of any appreciable size. Eliminating books depicting LGBTQ individuals as happily accepted by their families will not eliminate student exposure to that concept.”

She writes further: “Today’s ruling threatens the very essence of public education. The Court, in effect, constitutionalizes a parental veto power over curricular choices long left to the democratic process and local administrators. That decision guts our free exercise precedent and strikes at the core premise of public schools: that children may come together to learn not the teachings of a particular faith, but a range of concepts and views that reflect our entire society. Exposure to new ideas has always been a vital part of that project, until now. The reverberations of the Court’s error will be felt, I fear, for generations. Unable to condone that grave misjudgment, I dissent.”

STATEMENT FROM THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS IN THE CASE:

GLAAD also amplified a response from the children’s book authors and illustrators in the case:

“As the authors and illustrators of the books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor, we believe the Supreme Court’s ruling threatens students’ access to diverse books and undermines teachers’ efforts to create safe, inclusive classrooms. To treat children’s books about LGBTQ+ characters differently than similar books about non-LGBTQ+ characters is discriminatory and harmful. This decision will inevitably lead to an increasingly hostile climate for LGBTQ+ students and families, and create a less welcoming environment for all students.

We created our books for all children. We believe young people need to see themselves and families like theirs in the books they read; this is especially true for LGBTQ+ children and LGBTQ+ families. And all children need to learn how to share their classrooms and communities with people different from themselves. Books can help them understand one another and learn to treat each other with acceptance, kindness and respect.

We know there are families and educators across the country who are committed to creating inclusive classrooms that meet the needs of the diverse groups of students in their school districts. We are with them in spirit as they work to ensure that all students are seen and supported.

We will continue to support LGBTQ+ families and children everywhere and advocate for the right of all students to read freely. We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision.”

Sarah Brannen, author of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding

Chris Case, illustrator of Jacob’s Room to Choose

Charlene Chua, illustrator of Love, Violet

LaToya Council, author of IntersectionAllies: We Make Room For All

Daniel Haack, author of Prince & Knight

Ian Hoffman, author of Jacob’s Room to Choose

Sarah Hoffman, author of Jacob’s Room to Choose

Stevie Lewis, illustrator of Prince & Knight

Katherine Locke, author of What Are Your Words?

Julie McLaughlin, illustrator of Pride Puppy

DeShanna Neal, author of My Rainbow

Andy Passchier, illustrator of What Are Your Words?

Jodie Patterson, author of Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope

Chelsea Johnson Rabb, author of IntersectionAllies: We Make Room For All

Ashley Seil Smith, illustrator of IntersectionAllies: We Make Room For All

Robin Stevenson, author of Pride Puppy

Art Twink, illustrator of My Rainbow

Charlotte Sullivan Wild, author of Love, Violet

Additional background:

• GLAAD fact sheet with background and relevant resources is available here .
• PEN America’s 2023-2024 “Cover to Cover” report found that, during the 2023-2024 school year, 25% of the more than 4,000 books banned in U.S. public schools included LGBTQ+ people or characters.

Additional book covers of the children’s books named in the case are available below: