Hennen: Librarians should join good-faith effort to keep porn from kids in libraries

Let me ask you an easy question. This shouldn't require you to ponder the answer. Give me a split-second response.

Ready?

Should libraries allow sexually explicit material to be seen by children? No. Hard stop. Gross. Child abuse. Horrible idea.

Who would answer anything other than no, you ask? Librarians are your answer. Taxpayer-funded librarians.

A bill in the North Dakota Legislature has a simple mission: Protect youth from pornography. House Bill 1205 would prohibit public libraries from "maintaining explicit sexual material." I'll save you the descriptions included in the bill, but trust me, you don't want kids to see it.

Librarians quoted in a story by C.S. Hagen in The Forum call this bill "egregious overreach." Really? Is it too much to ask Ms. Christine Kujawa, Librarian at Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, to protect children? Valley City Barnes County Public Library Director Anita Tulp wants to know why legislators are "targeting" libraries when nearly all children have easy access to smartphones. That's really rich. As if to say, "Hey, they'll see porn anyway, why not give them some more at the library?"

Maybe these libraries need more supervision from the representatives of the people. Again, they are funded by public money.

I'm appalled that librarians are fighting this bill. Is it asking too much to protect children in our libraries?

The coverage of this story is attracting attention nationwide. This from the New York Times opinion pages by Taylor Brorby, North Dakota native and the author of “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land": "Libraries should be places where everyone is welcomed, no matter who they are, and where everyone can find themselves reflected in the stories on the shelves. Laws like these make that a lot less likely."

Huh? Everyone is certainly welcome, no matter who they are. But what does it mean to say "everyone can find themselves reflected in the stories"? Is the author seeking porn to be allowed so youth can "find themselves"? With this bizarre opinion arguing against the proposed legislation, he instead is making the case for why it's needed.

What is all the fuss? Remove sexually explicit material from the local library. Period. You know, the library that taxpayers pay for.

But how do we define sexually explicit? Answer from the bill: It could include “pictorial, three-dimensional or visual” depictions of anything from sex scenes in movies to educational materials meant to teach teenagers about puberty. As the bill states, libraries have until Jan. 1, 2024, to create a procedure “for the development of a book collection that is appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the individuals who may access the materials, and which is suitable for, and consistent with, the purpose of the library.”

That sounds reasonable to me. But not for the librarians. They are busy screaming that the Legislature is "banning books." Some are hosting displays mocking the discussion of the bill. Let's demand librarians protect our children.

Scott Hennen hosts the statewide radio program “What’s On Your Mind?” On AM 1100 “The Flag”, AM 1090 KTGO “The Flag” and AM 1460 KLTC. Email him at ScottH@FlagFamily.com

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.