GOP Secretary Of State Candidate Literally Burns Books In Twitter Post

Valentina Gomez, a Republican running for Missouri secretary of state, posted a video to social media this week in which she blowtorched books , falsely claimed that books with LGBTQ+ themes are indoctrinating and sexualizing children, and promised to preside over widespread efforts to remove books from public libraries if she wins her race.

This is what I will do to the grooming books when I become secretary of state, Gomez says in the video, posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, before releasing a blaze of fire. These books come from a Missouri public library. When Im in office, they will burn.

Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia by Myriam Daguzan Bernier and Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke were on the receiving end of Gomezs flames in the video.

Missouris secretary of state has myriad responsibilities, including serving as chief election official, overseeing the state library system and administering emergency rules, which are state regulations that can be implemented rapidly. Gomez, a real estate investor and financier, says on her campaign website that she will review library funding and programs in order to ensure they genuinely strengthen Missouris future. She also supports banning gender-affirming health care for trans youth and getting rid of electronic voting machines.

On Thursday, Gomez posted a screenshot  on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, showing that the company had removed the video from its platform. 

Just like President Trump, I am one of the most suppressed voices on Instagram. I call for META CEO Mark Zuckberg to reinstate me, and to create an injury fund for all the victims that Facebook failed to protect against the vile groomers, Gomez said in a lengthy comment to HuffPost, in which she also claimed without evidence that Zuckerberg permits and endorses pedophiles on Instagram and Facebook.

Gomez continued with a homophobic broadside: Message is simple. You want to be gay? Fine be gay. Just dont do it around children. Stop putting books in libraries about sexualization, indoctrination and grooming of children.

Gomezs inflammatory video is emblematic of how invested conservatives have become in the culture wars. Up and down the ballot and across the country, various GOP candidates have made it a cornerstone of their campaigns to target the LGBTQ+ community. This often comes in the form of attacking books with LGBTQ+ themes, claiming that theyre pornographic or secretly indoctrinating children.

Republicans in many states, including Missouri, have successfully whipped up a moral panic about books and have passed laws that restrict what books are available to children in schools and at public libraries.

In 2022, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed a law that was meant to ban sexually explicit books from school libraries . However, librarians and other critics argued that the measure was vague and didnt offer a clear definition of sexually explicit, and warned that it would lead to the removal of books conservatives simply dont like. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri is suing the state over the policy.

Missouri banned 333 books during the 2022-23 school year, according to PEN America , an anti-censorship nonprofit organization. 

And last April, Missouri House Republicans voted to defund the states public libraries, a measure that failed to pass in the state Senate.

Gomez is not the first Missouri GOP candidate to promise to burn books. In September, Bill Eigel, who is running for governor, posted a video in which he symbolically burned cardboard boxes  representing leftist policies. 

But lets be clear, you bring those woke pornographic books to Missouri schools to try to brainwash our kids, and Ill burn those too on the front lawn of the governors mansion, Eigel said in a post on X.