We can always count on the New York Times to remind us how complete has been conservatives’ loss in the culture wars. Elisabetta Povoledo reports from Venice that Mayor Luigi Brugnaro had to retreat from his proposed ban on books headed for the magical city’s preschool library about (1) a male dog that aspired to be a ballerina; (2) a little boy who wanted to be a princess; (3) a penguin egg hatched and adopted by two male penguins. In the end, the mayor whittled his banned list to two, one of which is “Jean A Deux Mamans” that, says the Times, “touch on same-sex families living happily ever after.”

Camilla Seibezzi, a civil rights advocate, promoted the books because prejudices against same-sex marriage are “consolidated at 3 years of age.” The mayor counters that, “these books risk confusing children.” Elton John weighed in on Ms. Seibezzi’s side, calling the mayor “boorishly bigoted… stupid.” The mayor’s response, “… at home parents can call themselves daddy number one and daddy number two, but I have to consider the majority of families, which have a mum and a dad. It is parents who should educate children about these things, not schools.” A bookseller entered the fray with the observation that “it’s an issue drummed up to ingratiate the electorate,” surely not a crime in a democracy.