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June 5, 2023Testa & Durr: Despite Murphy’s Fear-Mongering, We Don’t Want to Ban Books
Senator Michael Testa and Senator Ed Durr said that despite fearmongering from Governor Phil Murphy and Trenton Democrats, nobody is looking to ban books of any kind.
“It’s a total misrepresentation for Democrats to say that parents are looking to ‘ban books’ simply for expressing their concerns about the unrestricted availability of content that’s not age-appropriate in their school libraries,’” said Durr (R-3). “Nobody is looking to stop adults from buying these books or suggesting that parents shouldn’t be able to provide them to their children at their discretion. Any suggestion by Governor Murphy or Trenton Democrats that children’s access to books in school libraries has to be all or nothing is just fearmongering of the worst kind. We believe there are workable solutions that could address the concerns of parents and ensure continued access to books with sexual content with reasonable restrictions.”
The senators noted that age-based rating systems have long been used to limit children’s access to movies and video games that are not age-appropriate.
They are drafting legislation that would require a similar rating system to be implemented for books in school libraries.
“Kids can’t go to an R-rated movie or buy an M-rated video game without parental consent,” said Testa (R-1). “There’s no reason we can’t apply similar age-based restrictions to books in school libraries that contain sexually explicit images or adult themes. We should let parents decide which ratings are appropriate for their children. It’s a reasonable solution that I suspect Democrats will reject.”
1 Comment
I agree that book banning is antithetical to education, however, the books that parents are objecting to contain pornographic images and text that are inappropriate for MINORS. So, the real question is: “Why is this genre in school libraries at all?” Unfortunately, those who are in favor of giving children access to these books refuse to acknowledge the actual meaning behind them and attempt change the narrative back to “discrimination” because they don’t have a valid argument to support this type of material. The argument from parents isn’t about ideologies, discrimination, or ostracizing any particular group, it’s about focusing on age and grade appropriate educational content while keeping ALL children feeling safe and secure. Controversial books that are of educational value encourage civil discourse, and that is what education SHOULD be about. There is no suitable reason to have access to graphic sexual content of this nature in schools. Let’s be accepting of all, value children for their innocence and uniqueness, and get back to the business of educating our youth while creating critical thinkers, life-long learners, and productive citizens.