VICTOR JOECKS: Democrats want sexually explicit material in schools

Pornography and other sexually explicit material don’t belong in schools. Sadly, many Democrats disagree.

On Tuesday, Assemblywomen Brittney Miller, D-Las Vegas, presented Assembly Bill 416. It would make it extremely difficult to remove sexually explicit books from school or public libraries. Concerned parents couldn’t do it. Local elected officials couldn’t do it. It would require a court order.

It would also make it a category E felony for a parent to use or even attempt to use “undue influence” to remove sexually explicit books from schools. Publicly sharing the name of a teacher who gave a student sexually explicit material could also lead to a felony charge. That’s quite clearly an attempt to silence those who would object to those books. So much for the First Amendment.

Miller said the bill would “ensure that decisions about library materials are made based on educational merit, rather than political pressure or personal opinion or agenda.” She added, “So it’s not about obscenity like they say.”

Tellingly, Miller didn’t read any passages from books that many parents object to. In her opposition testimony, Karen England with Take Back the Classroom did. She read a section from “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis. In 2022, I obtained a catalog of the books in the district libraries. That book was on the high school library list.

The passage that England read is too graphic to print in the newspaper. It describes a man watching a pornographic movie with explicit details about the appearance and actions of three people involved in a sexual encounter.

“Now, that is what parents are upset about,” England said. “That is pervasively vulgar.”

And it is. If the words of a book are too graphic and lewd to include in a newspaper column aimed at adults, public schools shouldn’t be giving children access to it.

When Democrats attack “book bans,” that is what they are defending. Only it can’t be defended. So Democrats use euphemisms to hide their real agenda, while relying on the propaganda press not to inform the public. Nobody is talking about “banning” books. “American Psycho” can easily be found by anyone who wants to read it. The question is whether it is appropriate material for a school library.

Often conservatives’ greatest challenge isn’t winning an argument. It’s convincing people that the left actually supports things such as pornographic books in schools or boys in girls’ sports.

After opposition testimony, Miller, who is a teacher disturbingly enough, came back to the podium. She shared that if a student uses a naughty word, “even I as a teacher cannot say that word out loud while reporting it.” She continued, “There are certain words we all agree shouldn’t be said.”

Rarely do you hear a bill presenter so thoroughly undercut her own proposal. When confronted with details, Miller felt compelled to claim that she too supports book bans — never mind the almost impossible burden she wants to impose to make that happen.

“We have books that are in our libraries that are not allowed in men’s prisons because they are so obscene,” Clark County School District Trustee Lydia Dominguez testified.

Shame on Miller for trying to ensure those items remain in schools.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.