Amid a national wave of attempted book banning on LGBTQ subject matter, a North Dakota House panel heard arguments on a bill that would prohibit “sexually explicit” content – including depictions of sexual or gender identity – from public libraries, and would criminalize librarians who continue to display it
FILE - Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in recent weeks, Dec. 16, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers heard arguments on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.
Supporters of the bill said it would preserve children’s innocence and reduce their exposure to pornography. Lefor argued that a child's exposure to such content has been associated with addiction, poor self esteem, devalued intimacy, increasing divorce rates, unprotected sex among young people and poor well-being — though did he did not offer any evidence to support such claims.
Though supporters of North Dakota's bill repeatedly called the sexual content “obscene,” opponents said the material in question is not actually considered legally obscene. “It's a cute book,” Kujawa said — but it would be considered pornography under the bill because the book includes gender identity.
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