{"id":2271814,"date":"2024-06-19T17:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T21:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-the-fight-to-shield-kids-from-graphic-material-in-a-deep-red-state\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T17:11:51","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T21:11:51","slug":"inside-the-fight-to-shield-kids-from-graphic-material-in-a-deep-red-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-the-fight-to-shield-kids-from-graphic-material-in-a-deep-red-state\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle to Protect Children from Explicit Content in a Deeply Conservative State"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Finside-the-fight-to-shield-kids-from-graphic-material-in-a-deep-red-state%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2271814&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The ongoing controversy in Alabama over the \u2062presence\u2062 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-firm-claims-wisconsin-school-district-violated-state-law-by-providing-students-with-sexually-explicit-books\/\" title=\"Law Firm Claims Wisconsin School District Violated State Law By Providing Students With \u2018Sexually Explicit\u2019 Books\">sexually explicit books<\/a> \u2064in libraries, particularly those accessible to\u200d children, highlights a broader national debate on the subject. &#8220;All Boys Aren\u2019t Blue,&#8221; a book containing explicit LGBT\u200b content \u2063including\u200d descriptions of sexual\u200c violence and abuse, has\u200b been at the center \u200cof this debate. Despite requests from residents of a small\u200b Alabama\u200b community to move the book\u200d to the adult section, the\u200b Huntsville-Madison County Library committee decided to keep\u2064 the book\u200d in the young adult section, citing its relevance and educational value\u200b on \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-grill-facebook-over-leaked-internal-research-on-instagrams-harmful-impact-on-teens\/\" title=\"Lawmakers Grill Facebook Over Leaked Internal Research on Instagram\u2019s Harmful Impact on Teens\">real-world issues<\/a> faced\u2064 by some teens.<\/p>\n<p>In response\u200c to\u2064 concerns, new policies\u200b set \u200bto be implemented in Alabama\u2062 will require libraries to adapt stricter guidelines in selecting books for minors and\u200d ensuring parental approval for library cards used by minors.\u200b These measures aim\u200c to prevent minors\u2019 access to sexually explicit and inappropriate materials, \u2063and libraries failing to comply\u200b risk losing state funding.<\/p>\n<p>Local \u200dcontroversies have \u200balso\u200c emerged, such as the case \u2064in the Athens-Limestone County Public Library, where discrepancies in \u200bboard \u2063appointments have \u2064caused concerns among\u200c county \u200bresidents about lack \u2063of representation. This has led to legal action and efforts to ensure\u200b proper community representation in library decisions.<\/p>\n<p>this situation reflects \u200ca significant\u2064 pushback against\u200d what some perceive \u2063as an agenda by certain library associations to expose children to inappropriate content, \u200dcountered\u200d by \u2064community efforts to tailor library materials\u2062 to reflect local values and legal standards.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p>The fight to keep sexually explicit books away from children is not just being fought in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-scott-deeply-disappointed-democrats-walked-away-from-police-reform-negotiations\/\" title=\"Sen. Scott \u2018deeply disappointed\u2019 Democrats walked away from police reform negotiations\">big liberal cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Even in deep red Alabama, there is resistance to removing books such as <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the sexually explicit LGBT-themed book \u201cAll Boys Aren\u2019t Blue,\u201d in which there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/its-time-to-unite-against-the-real-enemy\">graphic descriptions<\/a> of anal rape and incest. It\u2019s the book that Louisiana Senator John Kennedy read aloud during a Senate committee hearing last year, shocking all in attendance.  <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The book <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/incidents\/concern-raised-over-sexually-explicit-book-in-olathekansas-seventh-grade-classroom\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">graphically describes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  sexual activities and includes lines like, \u201cHe didn\u2019t know I was a virgin, and I did my best to act dominant like my favorite porn star,\u201d and, \u201cHe reached his hand down and pulled out my d**k. He quickly went to giving me head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But just last month, <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">an effort from concerned residents in one small Alabama community asking for the book to be moved to the adult section of their local library was denied. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Under current guidelines, parents can complain about a book, but a committee appointed by the library director decides the fate of the book. The committee in charge of reviewing \u201cAll Boys Aren\u2019t Blue\u201d in Huntsville-Madison County unanimously ruled that it should stay in the library\u2019s young adult section. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cindy Hewitt, the executive director of the Huntsville-Madison Library, told one concerned resident on May 28 that the committee found that though the content in the book is \u201cfrank and open\u201d it is \u201crelevant to the author\u2019s history,\u201d according to a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. According to Hewitt, the committee found that it would be a \u201cdisservice to remove it from the collection as it would neglect to consider the real-world issues of sex and sexual abuse that some teenagers may already be experiencing.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p>A new policy set to go into effect next month, however, could create a new calculus for local libraries. After July 15, funding for state libraries <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">will be tied to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-investigates-texas-superintendent-for-removing-sexually-explicit-books-from-school-libraries\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Investigates Texas Superintendent for Removing Sexually Explicit Books from School Libraries\">removing sexually explicit<\/a> and graphic books from the children\u2019s sections of public libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Under the new rules, libraries will be required to come up with a \u201cselection criteria for minors and how they are safeguarded from sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The policies also stipulate that libraries will need to have provisions in place to move books that have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-gov-signs-bill-preventing-book-bans-while-standing-in-front-of-sexually-explicit-books\/\" title=\"Illinois governor signs bill to prevent book bans while surrounded by sexually explicit books.\">deemed sexually explicit<\/a> or inappropriate for children. The amended rules say that libraries shall \u201capprove written guidelines that ensure library sections designated for minors under the age of 18 remain free of material containing obscenity, sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another rule would create guidelines for library cards handed out to minors, including that parents need to give approval and that the cards can\u2019t be used to check out books from the adult section of the library. <\/span>This would give parents, like the ones attempting to have \u201cAll Boys Aren\u2019t Blue\u201d moved from the young adult shelves of the Huntsville-Madison County Library, a new avenue to have their complaints addressed.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">John Wahl, the chair of the Alabama Republican Party and a member of the Alabama Public Library System, told The Daily Wire that he fully expects the policies to go into place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201dOnce these go into effect on July 15, Alabama will have some of the strongest regulations in the country to make sure children are protected,\u201d Wahl told The Daily Wire. \u201cIt is time that we protect children from social engineering and from materials that really are not appropriate for them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He added that parents had come before the APLS board to tell them about sexually explicit books their kids had found at local libraries. He said that the people of Alabama \u201cwant the libraries to be cleaned up\u201d and that taxpayer dollars should not go to purchase explicit books aimed at children. <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_753079\" style=\"width: 854px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-753079\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: H. Rick Bamman\/Pioneer Press\/Chicago Tribune\/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Media and leftist activists have attempted to portray the pending rule as a \u201cbook ban,\u201d but backers say its a misrepresentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cNo one is about banning books. We\u2019re not trying to ban anything. We are trying to definitely protect children though,\u201d APLS board member Amy Minton told The Daily Wire. \u201cWhy do we have these books in our public libraries that encourage the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity when it\u2019s against the current law of Alabama?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She added that the vast majority of public comments sent in related to the policies were in support. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Elizabeth Stewart, an organizer with the conservative group Moms for Liberty and resident of Athens, Alabama, a large part of the push for children\u2019s books with graphic material is coming from the American Library Association, which wants to expose children to \u201cvarious forms of sexual activity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The American Library Association is run by a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/marxist-lesbian-president-of-american-library-association-doubles-down-on-agenda-for-a-better-world\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">self-described<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  \u201clesbian Marxist\u201d and has vigorously protested any effort to shield children from graphic materials while pushing leftist ideology. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201dEverytime we make a choice to put something in, we are simultaneously making a choice to not put something in,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cAnd so it does make a difference \u2014 there\u2019s not an endless space in each library to put everything which is why age appropriate curriculum material selection policy has to be written well.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_753081\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-753081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Photo by David McNew\/Getty Images.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Library boards will play an important part in developing policies that will be in accordance with the new APLS guidelines.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stewart told The Daily Wire that it is important for local citizens to take responsibility for their own communities. That\u2019s why she\u2019s been pushing for clarity on the makeup of her own Athens-Limestone County Public Library\u00a0board, which has been embroiled in controversy the last several months over its policies on sexually-themed books and board appointments. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The controversy began when longtime librarian and mother Carissa Callan was alarmed by a posted policy that said the library was supposed to supply books on sex \u201cthat reflect changing attitudes and departures from traditional mores.\u201d <\/span>As a resident of Limestone County, Callan applied for a spot on the board, as the library\u2019s publicly posted policies said three board appointments were given to the city and two to the county.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After being denied an application on the board, Callan and Stewart discovered that the library board was completely controlled by the city, contradicting posted policy. They<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> launched<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givesendgo.com\/GCNDW?utm_source=sharelink&#038;utm_medium=copy_link&#038;utm_campaign=GCNDW&#038;fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1yvPwZvckg2N3aDGec24sv2Z8pSZA3bxWi2Hz3nZihyAkeD8MhRXFCjbg_aem_AQQ4shsxi0nN9_WkzwyuPOhMe5l0DbnVt3ryOkB_hMVmr9YdfPHQt6bpuFTsAV0FKt275ydQ0iXEn-lJmOgxIiw-\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  an effort<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  to hire outside legal counsel to get county residents a guaranteed spot on the board. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cCounty citizens have continued paying as if it\u2019s a joint board since 2009 but without representation,\u201d a GiveSendGo <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givesendgo.com\/GCNDW?utm_source=sharelink&#038;utm_medium=copy_link&#038;utm_campaign=GCNDW&#038;fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1yvPwZvckg2N3aDGec24sv2Z8pSZA3bxWi2Hz3nZihyAkeD8MhRXFCjbg_aem_AQQ4shsxi0nN9_WkzwyuPOhMe5l0DbnVt3ryOkB_hMVmr9YdfPHQt6bpuFTsAV0FKt275ydQ0iXEn-lJmOgxIiw-\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">organized<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  by \u201cLimestone County Citizens\u201d to raise funds for a constitutional lawyer says. \u201cCounty residents are seeking legal answers to public policy being incorrect for 15 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The city makes up just about 26% of Limestone\u2019s population of around 110,000. The library\u2019s total expected revenue for fiscal year 2024 came to around $628,600. This funding came from multiple sources, including the county and the state, totaling around $224,244, according to records viewed by The Daily Wire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stewart said that county citizens were effectively getting taxed twice for something they did not have a voice on. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe county citizens are getting hit twice. They\u2019re paying their local county commission for no representations,\u201d Stewart told The Daily Wire. \u201cThe state of Alabama has been funding this library for 15 years under documentation and legal bylaws stating that it has remained a joint library effort and a joint board.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The city of Athens told The Daily Wire that the incorrect information about the board appointment on the website appeared to be the result of \u201chuman error,\u201d and that it had been removed from the website \u201cweeks ago.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The library\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alcpl.org\/using-the-library\/library-policies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">current page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  on policies says it is \u201cunder construction,\u201d and current policies on board membership cannot be found online. However, the library\u2019s updated policies from this May are available upon request from the library, and were obtained by The Daily Wire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That policy no longer contains the requirement for books \u201cthat reflect changing attitudes and departures from traditional mores,\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  but now stipulates that the library board is all appointed by the city. Limestone residents still have questions about why the county provides funding without getting to make any board appointments. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Limestone County Commission <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.enewscourier.com\/news\/commission-approves-update-to-library-board\/article_8ebaca96-2297-11ef-82e9-df2c6fe9f708.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">voted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  last week to approve a resolution that expresses a goal of forming a joint-library board again with at least two county representatives. The resolution would require an agreement to be reached by October 1. The exact details appear to still be up in the air and county residents remain unconvinced that the board will be changed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A spokeswoman for Athens said that the \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">city and the county are exploring modifications so that the board contains appointments from both the city and county,\u201d adding that \u201cwhen\/if those changes are made, the library policy will also be changed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">None of the members of the Limestone County Commission responded to Daily Wire requests for comment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Limestone residents also believe that there should be an independent review of the board regardless of whether the county is given any seats on the board or not. Wahl agrees, saying that there should be an independent review from outside to ensure that a fair resolution is found. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Stewart said that there needs to be a legitimate board in place in Athens before they can develop a policy on sexually explicit books in accordance with the APLS. Regardless, the Athens-Limestone Library will need to submit its policy by October if the new guidelines take effect in July.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The battle to restrict children&#8217;s access to sexually explicit books spans across the U.S., including conservative Alabama. Efforts to ban books like the LGBT-themed &#8220;All Boys Aren\u2019t Blue,&#8221; which contains graphic depictions of anal rape and incest, face opposition even in these areas. This controversy highlights the widespread challenge of regulating such content<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":2271815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1797275011.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-1797275011.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2271815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}