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 Atlanta91裸聊视频檚 Forsyth County to research and write.

Then the school district told him he had to cut a key point from his presentation 91裸聊视频� that the artist he helped rescue from obscurity had a gay son. Rather than acquiesce, he canceled the last of his talks.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e long past the point where we should be policing people talking about who they love,91裸聊视频� Nobleman said in a telephone interview. 91裸聊视频淎nd that91裸聊视频檚 what I91裸聊视频檓 hoping will happen in this community.91裸聊视频�

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 haven91裸聊视频檛 officially banned them. Some proponents of broader laws argue they extend to discussion of sex and gender even if the statutes don91裸聊视频檛 explicitly cover them.

Eleven states ban discussion of LGBTQ+ people in at least some public schools in what are often called 91裸聊视频淒on91裸聊视频檛 say gay91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淭he idea that these folks are saying that they just don91裸聊视频檛 want to talk about it at all is very disingenuous,91裸聊视频� said Cathryn Oakley, a lawyer for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading advocacy group. 91裸聊视频淲hat they mean is they don91裸聊视频檛 want views other than theirs to be expressed. And they believe that that means everyone should have to hear what they believe.91裸聊视频�

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, 91裸聊视频渢hen you certainly better not be teaching 91裸聊视频楻omeo and Juliet.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Nobleman, a self-described 91裸聊视频渟uperhero geek91裸聊视频� who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., is best known as the author of 91裸聊视频淏ill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-creator of Batman.91裸聊视频� 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 Batman91裸聊视频檚 only creator. Finger91裸聊视频檚 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 Finger91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the biggest twist of the story, and it91裸聊视频檚 usually when I get the most gasps,91裸聊视频� Nobleman said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 just a totally record-scratch moment.91裸聊视频�

Nobleman91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频淏atman & Bill,91裸聊视频� 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, 91裸聊视频淧lease only share the appropriate parts of the story for our elementary students.91裸聊视频�

Forsyth County schools spokesperson Jennifer Caracciolo said that just mentioning Fred Finger was gay isn91裸聊视频檛 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.

Nobleman91裸聊视频檚 discussion of sexual orientation has nothing to do with the state English language arts learning standards his presentation was supposed to bolster, Caracciolo said.

91裸聊视频淲e have a responsibility to parents and to guardians that they will know what students are learning in school,91裸聊视频� Caracciolo said.

Nobleman said he was blindsided and agreed to drop the reference to Fred Finger91裸聊视频檚 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 Finger91裸聊视频檚 homosexuality.

91裸聊视频淭his is not subject matter that we were aware that he was including nor content that we have approved for our students,91裸聊视频� Principal Brian Nelson wrote. 91裸聊视频淚 apologize that this took place. Action was taken to ensure that this was not included in Mr. Nobleman91裸聊视频檚 subsequent speeches and further measures will be taken to prevent situations like this in the future.91裸聊视频�

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 Finger91裸聊视频檚 sexual orientation.

Many parents have applauded Forsyth County91裸聊视频檚 actions, Caracciolo said. Cindy Martin, chair of the Mama Bears, said Nobleman should be 91裸聊视频渁shamed of himself.91裸聊视频�

She argues that a bans discussion of sexuality without parental consent for any minor because it gives parents 91裸聊视频渢he right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training91裸聊视频� of their children.

91裸聊视频淣o one has the right to talk to a child about sexuality unless it91裸聊视频檚 the parent, or the parent has given permission,91裸聊视频� Martin said. 91裸聊视频淢r. Nobleman did not have permission. So he went against Georgia law.91裸聊视频�

Matt Maguire, a Sharon Elementary parent who had a daughter who attended one of Nobleman91裸聊视频檚 presentations, said he was disappointed by the message and felt the school district was being bullied by Martin and others into 91裸聊视频渞eactionary91裸聊视频� censorship.

The mere mention of the word 91裸聊视频済ay91裸聊视频� didn91裸聊视频檛 merit claims made online by critics that Nobleman was 91裸聊视频� or sexualizing children,91裸聊视频� he said, and it ignored that some Sharon Elementary students have gay parents.

91裸聊视频淚t didn91裸聊视频檛 sit right with me. It made me feel like certain parts of our community were being kept as a dirty secret,91裸聊视频� Maguire said. 91裸聊视频淚 couldn91裸聊视频檛 imagine coming from a family with gay members and reading that apology just for saying the word 91裸聊视频榞ay.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

___

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