By Alabama Public Radio
Tuscaloosa, AL – State Representative Gerald Allen has received a muzzle award from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Protection of Free Expression. The Tuscaloosa Republican earned the award for his bill to prohibit use of public funds for purchase of books or materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. The center celebrates Jefferson's birth date every year by handing out the dubious muzzle awards. Those awards are presented to individuals or organizations that center officials believe have tried to suppress free expression. The center's director says Allen's bill represents the clearest and most obvious form of censorship. The bill would prohibit public and school libraries from displaying books with gay characters. It would also stop university theatre groups from staging certain plays. Allen says he wasn't trying to censor books or movies that include a homosexual viewpoint. But he says he doesn't believe that public dollars should be spent to buy or showcase the materials.