HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — School is not even in session yet, and people are debating a book in Harford County.
WATCH: Harford County community members protested against the Board of Education's decision to ban book "Flamer"
The Board of Education banned a graphic novel, "Flamer," from middle and high school libraries, Board President Dr. Aaron Poynton saying the novel is filled with vulgar language.
The book centers around a teenager who struggles with bullying and his identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Monday's demonstrators say not only do they disagree with the book being banned, but also with how the board handled the situation.
They say board members did it behind closed doors, not using the proper channels.
One of Monday's demonstrators related the book to his experience in school.
"When I was in middle school I was looking for books like Flamer, and not very much existed, and there weren't any adults to talk to about those kinds of issues. Now we're talking 50 years ago, so things were a little bit different, but those books are there for people who need to find answers to certain questions," Mark Patro said.
Stacey Albrecht, a parent, told WMAR 2 News that deciding what children can and can't read should be left up to the parents.
"We make it age appropriate as we see fit. When the older boys are watching stuff, like you're not allowed to watch certain things past 8 o'clock when the little girls go to bed. So it's my job as a parent to keep my kids safe, and no one gets to come in my house and tell me how to do that," she said.
But not everyone agrees, like Ismail Royer, Executive Director of The Coalition of Virtue.
"It's the level of sexual content in the book, and we would not support the removal of books that have been challenged on that basis, like the diary of Anne Frank or Of Mice and Men. Those books—their sexual scenes aren't graphic; they're not profane. There's R-rated, and then there's R-rated."
Over 80 people in person and online brought their statements of support and disappointment in front of the board at Monday's meeting, one man using his time to read an excerpt from the book.
"It's just going to keep going like this forever, on and on—too short, fat, not man enough, not white enough, not straight enough. I'll never be safe anywhere."
We contacted the board of education for comment.
Even though a spokesperson was present at the meeting, there's no response tonight.
The next meeting will be on September 8th.
