(ConservativeFreePress.com) – A Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, Valentina Gomez, released a controversial campaign video on Tuesday showcasing her burning books that include LGBTQ content, as part of her commitment to eliminate such materials.
In the video, which she shared on various social media platforms, Gomez is seen wielding a flamethrower and stating, “This is what I will do to the grooming books when I become secretary of state,” before setting multiple books ablaze. She claimed the books were sourced from a public library in Missouri, vowing to destroy similar materials if elected.
Gomez captioned the video on X (previously known as Twitter) with a promise to eradicate all books she believes are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing children, aligning herself with the MAGA and America First movements.
The books shown in the video included titles like “Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens” and “Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia.” Marke Bieschke, one of the authors of “Queer,” responded on X, highlighting the extreme nature of using book burning as a campaign strategy.
Kathy Belge, the other co-author, expressed concern over the rise in extremism and the dangers of book banning and burning, stressing the potential impact on American values and the alarming statistics regarding LGBTQ+ youth and suicide risks.
The video stirred considerable attention online, with nearly a million views and thousands of comments and reposts. It briefly faced restrictions on X for potentially violating rules against hateful conduct but was later unrestricted, prompting a thankful response from Gomez to Elon Musk for upholding free speech.
Gomez’s campaign platform includes opposition to what she terms the “transgender agenda” and a stance against transgender-related medical interventions for minors. She also advocates for the exclusion of transgender athletes from sports corresponding to their gender identity and for parental transparency in school curricula.
Her campaign has sparked comparisons to historical instances of book burning, such as those conducted by university students in Germany under Nazi influence, as a means of suppressing dissenting or “un-German” viewpoints.
This incident reflects the broader national debate over the inclusion of LGBTQ content in educational materials, with some states enacting laws to limit discussions of gender and sexuality in classrooms. Advocates for LGBTQ rights argue that labeling such educational content as “grooming” perpetuates harmful stereotypes about the community.
Gomez is one of several candidates vying for the Republican nomination for Missouri Secretary of State, with the primary scheduled for August 6, according to Ballotpedia.
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