'I don’t think that’s appropriate': DeSantis reneges on book censorship crusade

15 February 2024

Both as Florida governor and as a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis was adamant about implementing book censorship in schools in the Sunshine State and eventually across the country.

The failed presidential candidate's Florida crusade has resulted in the banning of books such as the "biographies of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the singer and songwriter Beyoncé, and talk show host Oprah Winfrey, according to a list obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project."

Last month, the Escambia County School District banned dictionaries and encyclopedias, in addition to over 2,800 books, "from library shelves in an effort to comply with a law" DeSantis approved last year.

The GOP leader pulled back on his efforts to censor classroom and library materials, according The Daily Beast, on Thursday in a press release calling the book bans a "hoax," and insisting that, instead, officials have "empowered parents to object to obscene material in the classroom."

The release said that "some have abused this process to object to items including books about Johnny Appleseed, The Giver and even the Bible."

The New Republic (TNR) reports the governor said during a press conference, "If you’re somebody who doesn’t have a kid in school and you’re going to object to 100 books, no I don’t think that’s appropriate."

DeSantis also "floated the idea of having the legislature limit the number of challenges and making future challenges contingent on whether you actually have kids in school," which TNR also notes would have an effect on the right-wing group, Moms for Liberty's advocacy. "We’re not trying to incentivize frivolous objections."

The Daily Beast's report is available at this link (subscription required). The New Republic's report is here.

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