RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – What is your child reading? Lawmakers in Raleigh are rolling out a bill that could affect what your student reads. At a Legislative Building press conference this week, State Rep. Neal Jackson (R-Moore, Randolph) says the bill is about protecting children from accessing inappropriate material based on their age.
“It’s not about fiction, it’s not about nonfiction, its not about novels, its not about comics, its not about textbooks, and its not about public libraries. Its about exposing children to sexual images and concepts that are morally wrong,” said Jackson.
The bill will require the removal of books from public schools that contain material that is “harmful to minors,” including material that “depicts or describes sexual activity.” Jackson says that most parents agree about protecting children from accessing inappropriate material.
“69 percent of parents believe that books containing pornography should not be present in high school libraries. That number jumps to 79 percent of parents believe this when it’s middle school libraries, and that number jumps to 89% when its elementary school libraries,” added Jackson.
The bill would create committees and processes to review existing and future library books down to the school level and require reviews of all materials at book fairs — a major funder of school library collections. It would also allow people to sue schools for damages and other remedies for alleged violations. State Rep. David Willis (R-Union) says there are some books that should never be allowed near children.
“If I were to pick up one of these books and walk across the street to the bicentennial plaza, sit down while a group of school kids on one of their daily tours and began to read aloud from one of these books; it would not take very long for someone to report me and for me to likely be arrested for contributing to the indecency of a minor,” said Willis.
The books will be chosen and removed based on eight criteria, including that the materials must be age appropriate and must not be vulgar or contain visual depictions or descriptions of sexual activity. The legislation also applies to donated material, which will need to be screened before being placed on school library shelves. Pastor John K Amanchukwu argues that this material “assaults the soul, stains the brain, and robs children of their innocence.”
“Once a child has caught a glimpse of these pornographic materials, they will never be able to un-see what they have seen.,” said Amanchukwu.