Illustration by Julie McLaughlin
Supreme Court Case involving Pride Puppy:
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On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States heard the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, a asking them to rule on whether the Montgomery County public school district in Maryland has the right to use LGBTQ+ picture books in classrooms without notifying parents and giving them the option of opting their children out. The case involves nine LGBTQ picture books, including Pride Puppy.
GLAAD has prepared a fact sheet that gives a good overview of the case. As the authors and illustrators of these books, we spoke up about the case. You can read our statement about the case here. We also released this statement after the oral arguments.
Addressing Misinformation About Pride Puppy
The law firm representing the religious parents in this case has been misrepresenting the books since the lawsuit was first filed back in 2023. Much of this misrepresentation has focussed on Pride Puppy, and has been amplified and further added to by right wing media. On April 22, Justice Neal Gorsuch repeated some of this misinformation in court: while insisting he had read the book, he falsely claimed it included images of bondage and sex workers.
Later that day, I spoke with CBC’s As it Happens about my reaction. I also wrote an essay for Maclean’s magazine: How My LGBTQ Kids’ Book Ended Up at the U.S. Supreme Court and I spoke with Imani Gandy and Jess Pieklo on the Boom! Lawyered podcast. Ali Velshi interviewed me about Pride Puppy and the SCOTUS case for the Velshi Banned Book Club on MSNBC.
Pride Puppy illustrator Julie McLaughlin has addressed the misrepresentation of Pride Puppy here: Addressing Misconceptions about Pride Puppy. This in depth piece by Jay Willis also explores the lies about our book: I Think Neil Gorsuch Is Lying About a “Religious Freedom” Case, Again
Articles and Interviews from the Authors and Illustrators of the 9 books:
From PEN America: Authors Speak Up About Their Books Being Misrepresented in a Lawsuit Headed to the Supreme Court
From Sarah and Ian Hoffman, authors of Jacob’s Room to Choose, in Time Magazine: Our Books Help Teach LGBTQ Themes in Schools. Should SCOTUS Allow Parents to Opt Out?
Sarah S. Brannen, author of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, in The Boston Globe: “I wrote a children’s book 20 years ago. It’s now the center of a Supreme Court Case.”
‘Uncle Bobby’s Wedding is a gentle little story about a family’: Sarah S. Brannen’s 20-year fight for LGBTQ+ children’s books
‘All children should feel safe to use the bathroom’: Sarah and Ian Hoffman on writing to create a culture of kindness
‘All kids deserve to see families like their own in the books they read’: Robin Stevenson writes books she wishes she had read growing up
From Mombian: Charlotte Sullivan Wild addresses the misrepresentation of Love, Violet
From Charlotte Sullivan Wild: I was raised Evangelical. Now religious parents object to LOVE, VIOLET at SCOTUS
From Charlotte Sullivan Wild: Why Deny the Innocence of LGBGTQ+ Childhood in U.S. Supreme Court Case?
Other Media
A lot has been said about this case, and no doubt more will be- I am not going to attempt to collect it all here. These are a few pieces I’ve particularly appreciated:
From Jay Willis at Balls and Strikes: Let’s Take a Look at the Children’s Books Sam Alito Is So Afraid Of.
From Jay Willis at Balls and Strikes: The Conservative Justices Are Inventing the Religious Liberty Case They Want to Decide
From Mombian: U.S. Supreme Court LGBTQ Book Case Is About More Than Just Books
From the Boom! Lawyered podcast, with Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo: The First Amendment is Being Rewritten in Real Time
What You Can Do
Thank you for reading this! Being caught up in this case has been challenging for all the authors and illustrators involved, and any support is very much appreciated. Spreading the word about the case and why it matters, pushing back against misinformation, speaking up against book bans, buying our books and sharing them–it is all helpful, and I am grateful for all it!
And of course, most book bans don’t end up at the Supreme Court. There are many hundreds of book challenges currently playing out, and these battles are fought at the local level: in schools, in libraries, and at school boards. There are lots of resources to help people get involved and stand up against censorship and for the rights of young people to read. Check out my book bans page for more resources!