California school district bans Merriam-Webster dictionary over 'oral sex' definition

Washington, Jan 27 (ANI): A California school district has banned Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary from school shelves, saying that the book is inappropriate for children.

The Golden State's Menifee Union School District has pulled all copies of the dictionary from its shelves and is investigating the classic American text for containing "age-inappropriate" words.

The controversy started when an inquisitive student got lost somewhere between "oralism" and "orang" and found a rather recent entry to the lexicon: "oral sex".

A parent at Oak Meadows Elementary School complained about a child finding the definition as "oral stimulation of the genitals."

And now, Menifee, which is composed of 9,000 students between kindergarten and 8th grade, is forming a committee of principals, teachers and parents to pore over the book and determine whether it's fit for young eyes.

Meanwhile, free speech advocates are enraged over what they call needless and harmful censorship.

"If a public school were to remove every book because it contains one word deemed objectionable to some parent, then there would be no books at all in our public libraries," Fox News quoted Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, in an interview with the California Press-Enterprise, as saying.

"I think common sense seems to be lacking in this school," he added.

However, some families are supporting the schools, saying that it is up to the district to do everything it can to shield children from explicit language. (ANI)