Conservative school board members propose public burning of 'sexually explicit' library books

Two members of the Spotsylvania County School Board have proposed burning books that the board this week unanimously voted to ban from high school libraries.

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reports that all six members of the school board voted to remove books that some parents had flagged as "sexually explicit" from libraries in the county.

However, two members thought that merely banning the books didn't go far enough.

Board member Rabih Abuismail, for one, said that he believes "we should throw those books in a fire," while fellow board member Kirk Twigg added that he wants to "see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff."

Twigg also said he wanted to see more books banned from the library and said, "There are some bad, evil-related material that we have to be careful of and look at."

It's not clear how many books will be banned from the library, although one book targeted by the board is "33 Snowfish" by author Adam Rapp, while the Free Lance-Star reports is about "three homeless teenagers attempting to escape from pasts that include sexual abuse, prostitution and drug addiction."

The book won the American Library Association's award for Best Book for Young Adults in 2004 and is recommended for ages 15 and up, which is the age of the vast majority of high school students.