If you’re a fairly typical American adult in most parts of the country today, particularly if you’re a parent of younger children, and you heard someone mention something about a ban on pornography in school libraries, I’m guessing you’d probably nod your head and think, ‘Huh. That sounds reasonable. We wouldn’t want that.’ Or at least that’s what I would think anyway. But if you happen to live in California and this same scenario popped up in reality, you might have second thoughts rather quickly. That’s because Governor Gavin Newsom just signed AB 1078 into law. But as it turns out, it’s not a ban on pornography in school libraries. It’s a ban on removing pornography from school libraries, along with critical race theory material and a bunch of other leftist propaganda. And if you or sympathetic members of your school board are caught doing it, they can be hit with some hefty fines. I swear… you can’t make this stuff up. (National Review)
California governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill that prevents the state’s more than 10,000 schools from banning and censoring books over concerns regarding racial or sexual themes, resulting in fines for any school that disobeys the law.
The legislation, formally known as AB 1078, forbids school boards from removing and censoring textbooks or library books even if they do include divisive content, such as critical race theory or pornography, according to a statement issued by the governor’s office. The bill also authorizes state superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond to buy instructional materials for school districts, recoup costs from the purchases, and determine whether to fine school boards if they don’t comply with the state’s updated instructional standards.
The law, which took effect immediately upon Newsom’s signature, was enacted in response to the California government’s debate with school districts over whether the latter can remove or censor any books that perpetuate left-wing ideologies and immoral content.
For the umpteenth time, I find myself sitting here and scratching my head, wondering how I never realized that Idiocracy was actually a documentary. There is now a law on the books in the state of California that will impose fines on schools if they remove pornography from their libraries. And new funds are being allocated to allow the state superintendent of schools to purchase new books (presumably the aforementioned pornography) and deliver them to schools found to be lacking in the state minimum volume of porn.
Look, I’m generally opposed to book bans for obvious reasons. Consenting adults should be able to read what they wish. And for the most part, schools should offer a wide range of educational material to the curious minds of students. I’ve even opposed some proposed or enacted bans on subjects like the history of Harvey Milk in politics because even though he was a gay rights advocate, that was part of actual history. But we have to draw the line somewhere, and it seems like graphic sexual material is a fairly easy call to make.
Do you recall when Senator John Kennedy read aloud from a “school book” called “Gender Queer” on the floor of the Senate? It’s a book that was found in a school library and it wasn’t even PG-13. That was straight-up R-rated if not NC-17. To put this in as much of a family-friendly tone as I can manage for this platform, there were descriptions in there instructing young boys on how to perform certain, um… “mouth-oriented” sexual acts on other boys and how to apply lubricant for other “activities.” Does anyone really think that’s appropriate in a grade school library?
And this isn’t some sort of “anti-gay” thing. I don’t want books in grade schools or frankly middle or high schools instructing boys on how to do that to girls! (Though God only knows most of us could have used some help in that department later in life.) The point is, parents should be deciding when their children of either gender – and I will gently remind you again that there are only two of them – are ready to begin learning about these things and what materials are the most appropriate to impart that information. And I can assure you that the best method would not be to have your sixth-grader stumble across “Gender Queer” in the school library during study hall.
To a lesser, but still important degree, the same thing goes for all of this supposed “critical race theory” material that leftists are trying to indoctrinate children with. While not as blatant as the pornography mentioned above, it’s still damaging. Giving children a warped view of history where they are taught that they live in a country brimming with racism and hatred only breeds children who hate their country. (Which is probably the point.) This material completely ignores the tremendous progress that has been made in American race relations, particularly since the 1960s and 70s. And when you raise children to expect to see racism everywhere, they will find a way to see it. And – again – that’s undoubtedly the goal because it suits a broader political agenda and The Narrative.
It’s true that California is full of a lot of Democrats and many of them are no doubt quite liberal when it comes to many contentious political issues. But are the parents of California really okay with this? Are they honestly so completely brainwashed that they’re willing to accept a law mandating pornography in schools and punishing schools that refuse to provide it? Clearly, not all of them are. The Temecula Valley Unified School District in Riverside County recently fought back, but now they may soon be facing steep fines, cutting into their education budget.
Perhaps the most insulting part of all of this was found in the comments that Newsom delivered at the signing ceremony. He proudly stated that “Fringe ideologues across the country are attempting to whitewash history and ban books from schools. With this new law, we’re cementing California’s role as the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them.”
Of course, that’s an abject lie. What Newsom is doing is precisely the opposite. He’s removing the rights of families to make those decisions and placing that power in the hands of the state. That’s the Democratic game plan across the board, but he knows he has to keep lying about it if he has any chance of pulling it off. And too many in the media are happy to nod their heads and go along with it as if all of that were true and not the actual obscenity that it is.
