Maia Kobabe's comics memoir, "Gender Queer," had been the subject of an obscenity lawsuit in Virginia Beach, and the judge in the case found probable cause to believe that the book was "obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors."

The affecting story of a young person, assigned female at birth and struggling to define "eir" identity (Kobabe uses e/er/eir neopronouns), "Gender Queer" has won or been nominated for several awards. But its fate in Virginia will be decided by a retired judge, Pamela Baskervill, at the end of August.

This is the latest salvo in arguably a years-long war on queer cartoonists and authors waged by Republicans eager to shore up support by persecuting and slandering minorities. The complainant in Virginia is Tommy Altman, a Republican candidate for the state's 2nd Congressional District, who placed third in a four-way primary this June. But it is, frankly, a bit shocking that the case will be heard at all: "Obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors" is not a legal category in any statute, state or federal.(For more of the article, Click Here.

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