In Juneau, booksellers removed the books Watley illustrated <\/a>for his wife, Sarah Asper-Smith. Their publisher, Sasquatch Books, owned by Penguin Random House, said Wednesday it has ended its publishing relationship with Watley and will discontinue selling their books.<\/p>\nWatley is best known as the illustrator for three children’s books written by his wife, including “I Would Tuck You In” and “You Are Home With Me.” The books for children ages 1 to 5 feature mother animals snuggling their young and trying to make them feel safe with loving, affirmative statements like “wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.”<\/p>\n
Juneau merchants began removing Asper-Smith’s books from their shelves this week, but only the ones with illustrations by her husband. She does not face charges.<\/p>\n
The incident also came as lawmakers across the country consider bills limiting the rights of transgender people, including in Alaska where a bill from Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has garnered significant attention.<\/p>\n
It would require parental permission before a student can use a different name or pronoun in school records; that sex ed classes require parental notice and permission and that schools must provide for locker rooms or restrooms based on “biological sex” or access to single-occupant facilities.<\/p>\n
The bill remains in its first committee in the House. Senate leaders in a bipartisan majority of nine Democrats and eight Republicans have already indicated the bill isn’t expected to advance on their side.<\/p>\n
“The anti-trans rhetoric around the country has had an effect on hate crimes or attempted hate crimes like this one,” said Caitlin Shortell, an Anchorage civil rights attorney and board member of Identity Inc., which offers community services and focused health care to the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n
She said transgender people rarely commit mass shootings and are more likely to be victims of violence.<\/p>\n
“And we’ve seen nationwide, and in Alaska, initiatives to discriminate against trans people in the name of protecting children, and I link this to attempted crimes like the one that we averted in Juneau,” Shortell said.<\/p>\n
An LGBTQ+ leader in Juneau said this situation is a direct consequence of a national environment that is being directed by political and media leaders to target and dehumanize trans people.<\/p>\n
“The expected result is death,” said Emily Mesch, chair of SEAGLA, the Southeast Alaska LGBTQ Alliance.<\/p>\n
“They’re expecting that violence will come upon the trans community and some of us will die, and in exchange, some of them will get a couple thousand more votes,” Mesch said. “And that’s the deal with the devil that’s being made, the environment and the dialogue that is happening on the national level.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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