Should Books Be Banned?

So, for those of you who didn't know, it's Banned Books Week.  The purpose of it is to bring awareness to the fact that students are not free to read certain books due to the fact that teachers, parents or community members request that those books be banned from school libraries and curriculums.

Now, I must admit...

I Read Banned Books.  

I even have this bag that says so.  You can get one for you too!

 I'm not a huge fan of banning books.  I used to teach middle school English before being a stay-at-home mom and I found it unfair that because a parent was not comfortable with their child reading a certain book that it meant that no student could read that book.  As a parent I totally understand not wanting your child to be exposed to things you don't approve of, but I don't feel it gives you the right to put those values on other people's children as well.

In fact, my first year teaching, The Giver was part of our curriculum.  I LOVED teaching that book and most of my students loved it too.  And then it was banned from our curriculum.  We could have it in our school library, and I would recommend it to my students but I could no longer teach it.

There are some great classics that have been banned from curriculums and some great reads that have been banned from libraries, such as the Harry Potter series (irreligious), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (irreligious), The Hunger Games (too violent), James and the Giant Peach (socially offensive), and Speak (too graphic).

So, what do you think of the idea of banning books from schools?