I was extremely concerned when I read about the contentious school board meeting in Windham last week.

Many adults showed up to attempt to force the banning of certain books from the school libraries. They claim that they are acting to protect children, without considering the harm that they inflict on kids like my trans son.

Sending the message that queer and trans subjects are unfit for children, many of whom are struggling with gender identity, can alienate these children and subject them to bullying and discrimination by their peers. Are we going to regress to a time when books were publicly burned and banned, a time when gay-bashing was a high school norm?

Please don’t let our state emulate states like Tennessee by singling out our trans children and criminalizing their health care, their literature or their very existence.

Thomas Boatman
Windham