'Book bans' are 'castrating' children: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore demands 'economic consequences' for states removing sexually explicit books from schools

Democratic Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently claimed that "book bans" are "castrating" children and demanded "economic consequences" for states that remove sexually explicit books from school libraries and classrooms.

During a Sunday interview with Jen Psaki, MSNBC host and former Biden press secretary, Moore stated that those advocating for restricting children's access to age-inappropriate books are "castrating" them.

Psaki wrapped up the interview by asking the Maryland governor about "book bans."

"Before I let you go, I want to ask you about book bans," Psaki stated. "Why do you think this has become a passion project of some conservatives?"

Moore replied, "I continue hearing people making the argument that we're doing it because we want to prevent our students from having discomfort or guilt because we don't want our students to be able to really wrestle with these really difficult things in times when they are maturing as individuals. And difficult historical points."

The governor stated that such claims are "actually not true."

"It's a guise," he added. "It's not about making kids feel uncomfortable."

Moore claimed that removing age-inappropriate books from schools is "about telling other kids that they shouldn't understand their own power."

"It's castrating them," he said.

"Telling African American kids, they should not understand their own power?" Psaki asked Moore, who nodded his head in agreement.

According to Moore, for students to "understand their own power," they need to understand their "history."

"The reason that I know that every single day I can stand in my own skin and I can stand in my own power is because I know my history," Moore continued. "And by telling me that that history is not important, or by telling you that if you teach it to me, that is gonna somehow put the person who taught it to me under investigation, you are telling me that you don't want me to understand my power. And that's what this is all about."

Moore then called for "economic consequences" for states that remove books.

"I think we need to make bigotry expensive," he stated.

Moore made similar claims last month during a commencement speech at Morehouse College, during which he claimed removing books from classrooms is a "threat" to history.

"When politicians ban books and muzzle educators," he stated. "They say it's an effort to prevent discomfort, guilt — but we know that's not true. This is not about a fear of making people feel bad. It is about a fear of people understanding their power."

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