Thread by @RebekahCummings

To be clear, the “left” did not ban the Bible from Davis School District. If you disagree, please hang in there for my explanation. 🧵 (1/7)

https://twitter.com/fox13/status/1664403981542498305

A parent in Davis School District challenged the Bible to highlight the absurdity of HB 374: Sensitive Materials in Schools, which says that any “description or depiction of illicit sex or sexual immorality" (which, according to the law, includes “arousal” and “fondling”)...(2/7)

makes a book perversely vulgar and harmful to minors. This Utah law contradicts long-standing federal laws defining obscenity and has resulted in hundreds of books being challenged in Utah that no reasonable person would consider removing from library shelves. (3/7)

Long story short, you have to read a book to understand a book. There are books that are excellent, age appropriate, and life changing that include depictions of sexual situations (hello, Judy Blume!) because many teens have experienced their own burgeoning sexuality... (4/7)

and/or abuse, and good books reflect true human experience. Does every book belong in a school? No. Is every book in a library for every student? No. Is there a line for obscenity that should not be crossed in a school library? Absolutely (5/7)

But “bright-line” laws like HB 374 ignore the complexity of literature and the need to evaluate books in their entirety for literary merit and age appropriateness. (6/7)

Utah wrote a bad law to satisfy extremists. Most people trust librarians, don't like banning books, and trust parents to help their kids choose books. (7/7) #freepeoplereadfreely #freadom