A Batman researcher said ‘gay’ in a talk to schoolkids. When asked to censor himself, he quit

ATLANTA — Marc Tyler Nobleman was supposed to talk to kids about the secret co-creator of Batman, with the aim of inspiring young students in suburban Atlanta’s Forsyth County to research and write. Eleven states ban discussion of LGBTQ+ people in at least some public schools in what are often called “Don’t say gay” laws, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. And they believe that that means everyone should have to hear what they believe.” Discussion of straight people with traditional gender identities is everywhere, she said, and if all discussion of sexuality is going to be banned, Oakley said, “then you certainly better not be teaching ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” Nobleman, a self-described “superhero geek” who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., is best known as the author of “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-creator of Batman.” It lays out the story of Bill Finger, the long-uncredited author who helped create Batman and other comic book characters. After Nobleman mentioned in his first talk that Fred Finger was gay, the principal handed him a note during his second talk that said, “Please only share the appropriate parts of the story for our elementary students.” Forsyth County schools spokesperson Jennifer Caracciolo said that just mentioning Fred Finger was gay isn’t the problem. The mere mention of the word “gay” didn’t merit claims made online by critics that Nobleman was “ grooming or sexualizing children,” he said, and it ignored that some Sharon Elementary students have gay parents.