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 AtlantaB次元官网网址檚 Forsyth County to research and write.

Then the school district told him he had to cut a key point from his presentation B次元官网网址� that the artist he helped rescue from obscurity had a gay son. Rather than acquiesce, he canceled the last of his talks.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e long past the point where we should be policing people talking about who they love,B次元官网网址� Nobleman said in a telephone interview. B次元官网网址淎nd thatB次元官网网址檚 what IB次元官网网址檓 hoping will happen in this community.B次元官网网址�

State laws restricting talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools have proliferated in recent years, but the clash with Nobleman shows schools may be limiting such discussions even in states like Georgia that havenB次元官网网址檛 officially banned them. Some proponents of broader laws argue they extend to discussion of sex and gender even if the statutes donB次元官网网址檛 explicitly cover them.

Eleven states ban discussion of LGBTQ+ people in at least some public schools in what are often called B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 say gayB次元官网网址� laws, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. Five additional states require parental consent for discussion, according to the project.

Legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights gained steam this year, but suppression is not new. A , which requires curriculums to be LGBTQ-inclusive, tried to bar a valedictorian from discussing his queer identity during a graduation speech in 2021. That year, a federal judge ordered an Indiana district to give the as to other extracurricular groups. Two years later, Indiana passed a law banning discussion of LGBTQ+ people in grades K-3.

Schools nationwide have been challenged on and many have removed them, including Forsyth County, which has been a battleground in the politics of schooling.

LGBTQ+ advocates say Nobleman bumped up against a moral panic fomented by conservatives seeking to roll back acceptance.

B次元官网网址淭he idea that these folks are saying that they just donB次元官网网址檛 want to talk about it at all is very disingenuous,B次元官网网址� said Cathryn Oakley, a lawyer for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading advocacy group. B次元官网网址淲hat they mean is they donB次元官网网址檛 want views other than theirs to be expressed. And they believe that that means everyone should have to hear what they believe.B次元官网网址�

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, B次元官网网址渢hen you certainly better not be teaching B次元官网网址楻omeo and Juliet.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Nobleman, a self-described B次元官网网址渟uperhero geekB次元官网网址� who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., is best known as the author of B次元官网网址淏ill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-creator of Batman.B次元官网网址� It lays out the story of Bill Finger, the long-uncredited author who helped create Batman and other comic book characters.

Finger died in obscurity in 1974, with artist Bob Kane credited as BatmanB次元官网网址檚 only creator. FingerB次元官网网址檚 only child was a son, Fred Finger, who was gay and died in 1992 at age 43 of AIDS complications. Bill Finger was presumed to have no living heirs, meaning there was no one to press DC Comics to acknowledge FingerB次元官网网址檚 work.

But Nobleman discovered Fred Finger had a daughter, Athena Finger. That, he said, is a showcase moment of the presentation he estimates he has given 1,000 times at schools.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the biggest twist of the story, and itB次元官网网址檚 usually when I get the most gasps,B次元官网网址� Nobleman said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just a totally record-scratch moment.B次元官网网址�

NoblemanB次元官网网址檚 research helped push DC Comics into reaching a deal with Athena Finger in 2015 to acknowledge her grandfather and Kane as co-creators. That led to the documentary B次元官网网址淏atman & Bill,B次元官网网址� featuring Nobleman.

In Forsyth County, the author gave his first presentations at Sharon Elementary on Aug. 21. After Nobleman mentioned in his first talk that Fred Finger was gay, the principal handed him a note during his second talk that said, B次元官网网址淧lease only share the appropriate parts of the story for our elementary students.B次元官网网址�

Forsyth County schools spokesperson Jennifer Caracciolo said that just mentioning Fred Finger was gay isnB次元官网网址檛 the problem. But she said it led to questions from students, meaning Nobleman and students might discuss sexuality without parents being warned.

In the past three years, conservatives in the 54,000-student district have tried to tamp down diversity policies and they view as immoral.

The district was sued by a conservative group called the Mama Bears after banning a member of that group from reading explicit book excerpts at meetings. A federal judge .

The district was also warned by the U.S. Department of Education after from libraries, with federal officials saying the discourse may have that violated federal laws against race and sex discrimination.

NoblemanB次元官网网址檚 discussion of sexual orientation has nothing to do with the state English language arts learning standards his presentation was supposed to bolster, Caracciolo said.

B次元官网网址淲e have a responsibility to parents and to guardians that they will know what students are learning in school,B次元官网网址� Caracciolo said.

Nobleman said he was blindsided and agreed to drop the reference to Fred FingerB次元官网网址檚 sexual orientation in remaining presentations that day, as well as in three at another school the next day. But by the morning of the third day, Nobleman started fielding questions from reporters after the principal at Sharon Elementary sent an electronic message to parents apologizing for the mention of Fred FingerB次元官网网址檚 homosexuality.

B次元官网网址淭his is not subject matter that we were aware that he was including nor content that we have approved for our students,B次元官网网址� Principal Brian Nelson wrote. B次元官网网址淚 apologize that this took place. Action was taken to ensure that this was not included in Mr. NoblemanB次元官网网址檚 subsequent speeches and further measures will be taken to prevent situations like this in the future.B次元官网网址�

And so, on the third day he was presenting, after a discussion with district officials, Nobleman refused to give the last two of his scheduled presentations if required to omit FingerB次元官网网址檚 sexual orientation.

Many parents have applauded Forsyth CountyB次元官网网址檚 actions, Caracciolo said. Cindy Martin, chair of the Mama Bears, said Nobleman should be B次元官网网址渁shamed of himself.B次元官网网址�

She argues that a bans discussion of sexuality without parental consent for any minor because it gives parents B次元官网网址渢he right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious trainingB次元官网网址� of their children.

B次元官网网址淣o one has the right to talk to a child about sexuality unless itB次元官网网址檚 the parent, or the parent has given permission,B次元官网网址� Martin said. B次元官网网址淢r. Nobleman did not have permission. So he went against Georgia law.B次元官网网址�

Matt Maguire, a Sharon Elementary parent who had a daughter who attended one of NoblemanB次元官网网址檚 presentations, said he was disappointed by the message and felt the school district was being bullied by Martin and others into B次元官网网址渞eactionaryB次元官网网址� censorship.

The mere mention of the word B次元官网网址済ayB次元官网网址� didnB次元官网网址檛 merit claims made online by critics that Nobleman was B次元官网网址� or sexualizing children,B次元官网网址� he said, and it ignored that some Sharon Elementary students have gay parents.

B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 sit right with me. It made me feel like certain parts of our community were being kept as a dirty secret,B次元官网网址� Maguire said. B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 imagine coming from a family with gay members and reading that apology just for saying the word B次元官网网址榞ay.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

___

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Fred Finger was fielding questions from reporters. It was Marc Tyler Nobleman, not Finger.

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press