(LifeSiteNews) — A Virginia school board member attracted the headlines he was undoubtedly seeking after he was sworn in by placing his hand not on the Bible but on a stack of sexually explicit LGBT books frequently condemned by conservatives concerned about protecting children’s innocence.
Democrat Karl Frisch participated in the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday for the Fairfax County, Virginia school board by using five books that contain offensive and sometimes extremely graphic sexual depictions including “Gender Queer,” “Flamer,” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue.”
The Washington Examiner reported that Frisch, Fairfax County’s first openly LGBT-identifying school board member, is currently the vice chairman of the board and is set to become the chairman on January 1.
While Frisch’s swearing-in using the sexually explicit books targeted at young people is valid (the U.S. Constitution doesn’t require the use of Bibles and actually prohibits the use of any “religious Test … as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust,”) the stunt has been interpreted as both a deliberate insult to religious residents and a good reason for parents to consider homeschooling.
Fairfax GOP wrote on social media that Frisch “went out of his way to insult Fairfax County’s people of faith Wednesday night.”
Virginia Delegate Nick Freitas, a Green Beret combat veteran, said he understands “why parents are mad” about Frisch’s promotion of sexually explicit content, but he doesn’t understand “why they are surprised anymore,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Addressing parents during an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Freitas said, “If you can, pull your kids out of schools because that guy won with 65% of the vote, and he’s not done.”
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Frisch has made a point of advancing the left-wing agenda during his time in office.
His biography on the Fairfax County Public Schools website states that he “has championed efforts to … protect school libraries from censorship, and ensure all students have safe and inclusive schools” as well as “support LGBTQIA+ students.” Advocates of the LGBT agenda frequently attempt to label efforts to keep graphic sexual content away from children as hateful attacks and unjust censorship and book bans.
In a post on X decrying Frisch’s stunt, parental rights activist Nicki Neily argued that “the ‘book ban’ narrative is part of a dishonest political campaign aimed at attacking parents.”
“Families wanting age-appropriate material in their children’s schools is NOT ‘book banning,’ it’s common sense,” she said.
Meanwhile, Frisch’s decision to take his oath using graphic pro-LGBT books isn’t exactly original.
Earlier this month, newly elected Pennsylvania school board president Karen Smith took her oath of office on a stack of books that included the sexually explicit LGBT book “Flamer,” LifeSiteNews previously reported.
“Banning books and supportive symbols is wrong and does nothing to address real issues our district is facing, like learning loss, teachers/staff shortages, and lack of mental health supports,” Smith wrote on her campaign website.
READ: Democrat school board president eschews Bible, takes oath of office on pornographic LGBT book
But as individual school board members like Smith and Frisch dismiss concerns about explicit books, many parents across the country are actively pushing back.
As LifeSiteNews has extensively reported, conservative-minded parents, lawmakers, and school boards in states across the country have been vigorously resisting radical homosexual and transgender ideology by working to require schools to notify families of a child’s gender confusion, pull sexually explicit and pro-LGBT curricula and materials from classrooms and school libraries, protect girls’ sports and spaces, and ban sexualized performances targeting children.
Amid the nationwide pushback, recent data suggests that support for the radical LGBT agenda is slipping.
Earlier this month, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) reported that data from 2022 and 2023 indicated an overall “decline in support for LGBTQ rights across the board.”