Queering the News for the Week of 8/16
Ending a Florida book ban, RFK Jr. slashes mRNA research on the verge of HIV breakthrough
Hi all, cheers to another week. The news isn’t the best, but for once, my home state of Florida isn’t doing something restrictive, instead shooting down a book ban law centered on “obscene” books. Beyond that, the news was a bit slow this week in the queer world.
Let’s get into it.
Florida law banning books struck down
A Florida judge has ruled that the state’s book ban violated free speech protections, siding with authors and publishers in the ongoing lawsuit.
“None of these books are obscene,” Judge Carlos Mendoza of the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida wrote. “The restrictions placed on these books are thus unreasonable in light of the purpose of school libraries. And if so, the presence of these books in school libraries certainly does not materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school.”
He also referenced that many of the books were classic, award-winning, and tested on exams.
The ban, a part of HB 1069, was an expansion on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” which prohibited discussion of queer identities from kindergarten through high school, targeted books that contain “sexual conduct.” Even non-LGBTQ+ books such as Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Carrie by Stephen King, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (whose name was misspelled on the document of banned books) were on the chopping block. In total, over 700 books were banned from Florida public schools.
The ruling referenced older cases, offering a sense of continuity and precedent.
“Speech that is neither obscene as to youths nor subject to some other legitimate proscription cannot be suppressed solely to protect the young from ideas or images that a legislative body thinks unsuitable for them,” Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville ruled in 1975.
The lawsuit against the bill featured Penguin Random House, PEN America, the Authors Guild, and parents in the Escambia County School District, as well as five authors whose books were removed or challenged in school libraries. The bill, by its nature, largely targeted materials containing themes about race, gender, or sexuality.
School libraries must now use the Miller Test to determine if a book is obscene, which was used before the passage of the law. The test, adopted in 1973 after a Supreme Court ruling, puts the question of obscenity to the “average person,” and judges if the content lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
“This victory affirms what we’ve always known—that literature has the power to expand worlds, foster empathy, and help young people understand themselves and their experiences,” Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, said in a statement. “Book bans don’t just censor words on a page; they silence authors’ lived experiences and deny students access to the stories that help them navigate an increasingly complex world.”
RFK Jr. slashes mRNA funding while approaching HIV-vaccine breakthrough
Noted anti-vaxer and vaccine skeptic and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has decided to cut funding for mRNA vaccine development.
The HHS announced on August 5 that they would begin a “wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities.” They say the decision follows a review of mRNA investments that sprouted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “[Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority] (BARDA) is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
According to ABC News, some of the vaccines potentially held breakthroughs for cancer and HIV treatment.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Kennedy said. “That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”
According to Johns Hopkins University, mRNA vaccine development dates back to the 1990s; however, the first mRNA vaccine to be brought to market was Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Rick Bright, a former director of BARDA who was forced out of the agency during the first Trump administration, said, “This isn’t prudent oversight, it’s self‑inflicted vulnerability. We’re weakening critical countermeasures at the very moment that global health risks are intensifying.”
Bright later filed for whistleblower status to protect himself from retaliation.
“This decision will have severe consequences, measured in lost lives, when a rapid vaccine response is needed,” Bright told STAT.
The announcement from the HHS came shortly after researchers in California published results from an early clinical trial that showed an immune response to HIV using mRNA vaccines.
According to Nature, “some 80% of the participants who received either of the vaccines that made membrane-bound proteins went on to produce antibodies that could block that protein from entering cells.”
“These are the first studies, so they’re very, very important,” says infectious-disease physician Sharon Lewin, who heads the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia.
One of the largest lobbying bodies for the HHS, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, has spent over $20,635,000 in 2025 and has fervently opposed expanded access to medication in the past, including affordable AIDs medication in Africa.