Criminalizing Teachers Won't Protect Texas Kids.

In case you missed it, Texas bills like Mayes Middleton's SB412 and Jared Patterson's HB267 proposing to eliminate the affirmative defense for education, scientific and governmental reasons aren't actually going to do a whole lot to protect children because they maintain the exception that protects an adult married to a child to give that child spouse "obscene or otherwise harmful" material (ie pornography).

Patterson's HB267 leaves in an exception for legislators, as well, while SB412 seems to have removed that exception in the most recently filed committee substitute. 

If Texas legislators really wanted to protect children from being sexualized, why didn't they file a bill that eliminates whatever Texas law permits CHILD MARRIAGE?! As parents of Texas children, we could get behind a law like that. 

Fortunately for all of us, no educators are providing "harmful or otherwise obscene" materials to minors. Book banners have convinced themselves- and legislators- that changing the affirmative defense law is necessary for law enforcement to be able to prosecute librarians and teachers who offer students books they don't like.

Some of the books that have been targeted- and labeled "harmful" to the point of violating state law - include The Handmaid's Tale, Beloved, Slaughterhouse-Five, and A House on Mango Street. Children's picture books like Itty Bitty Kitty Corn and Freddie the Farting Snowman have been dubbed "pornographic" and "sexually inappropriate," too. 

Texas book banners have been filing police reports on library books for years, but so far none of those complaints have resulted in any charges being filed. Those driving the book ban movement have convinced themselves- and our elected leaders- that eliminating the affirmative defense for educators will result in prosecution of librarians and teachers they believe are committing crimes by providing students with age relevant, educationally suitable books that depict diverse families, dystopian patriarchal societies, drug and alcohol use, sexual abuse, romantic sexual encounters, flatulence and fluffy pink kitty cats who want to become unicorns. 

Since none of the books that have been the subject of criminal complaints actually meet the definition of "harmful or otherwise obscene," eliminating the affirmative defense for educators will not actually change the outcome of these types of complaints. However, what it will likely do is result in teachers and librarians engaging in more self censorship of books they know might invoke the ire of the pearl-clutching extremists who will not hesitate for a second to use this new law to scare and intimidate them into compliance with their absurd view of what they believe is "harmful and otherwise obscene."

To recap:

Library books do not sexualize children.

But child marriage does. 

If you find this as absurd as we do, please contact your legislators and ask them to oppose SB412 and HB267. Or at the very least, ask them to remove the affirmative defense for legislators and adults married to children, too. 🤢

DON'T CRIMINALIZE TEXAS LIBRARIANS.

CLICK TO EMAIL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

Emails are great. Calls are better. Find your rep's phone number here.

Finally- HB267 will be heard on Wednesday, March 19 at 8AM, by the Texas House Committee on State Affairs. Click here to provide written public testimony, remotely, ahead of the committee meeting.Be sure to select HB267. Public testimony can also be submitted in-person on the day of the meeting if you plan to attend the meeting. Find instructions for registering to provide in-person testimony here.