Guest Column: Protecting Our Children Isn’t “Book Banning” — It’s Common Sense

Lately, there’s been a lot of noise in the media accusing conservatives of wanting to “ban books.”

Let me set the record straight: No one is trying to erase classic literature or silence free thought.

What we are doing is unapologetically standing up for the innocence of children by insisting that sexually explicit materials have no place in the children’s section of our public libraries.

I didn’t start out to make this a library issue. But libraries made it their issue.

I just want our children shielded from adult level sexually explicit material everywhere, in schools and our public libraries.

Just move the nasty stuff to the adult section. But the libraries wouldn’t budge.

This is not censorship. This is common sense. Our current law does not allow parents to decide if their kids can or should read a book with sexual content, but librarians and teachers can.

No one should be above the law. Parents, above all others, should be the decision-makers of what their children read, and perfect strangers should not be.

As a parent and grandparent, I believe in the importance of reading, learning, and intellectual exploration. Our libraries are invaluable community institutions.

But they also have a responsibility to ensure age-appropriate content is made available in a thoughtful and responsible way. That’s not an attack on books. It’s a defense of childhood. We restrict children’s access to harmful things in many ways. And, we should.

Let’s be clear: we are talking about books that contain graphic descriptions (and detailed images) of sex acts, not books that simply touch on mature themes.

Many of these titles would earn an R rating in a movie theater — yet somehow, they are being promoted to children in taxpayer-funded spaces.

If your child can't buy a ticket to see a movie with similar content, why should they be able to walk into a library and read it without a parent’s knowledge?

Opponents call this “book banning” because it’s a convenient way to shut down debate. This is a red herring, designed to make principled, concerned parents look like extremists.

But the real extremists are those who believe there is no issue with young children being handed a how-to manual on anal sex while they’re at school or the public library – and yes, this is happening in Wyoming.

Recently, I borrowed many books from the children's library. These books contain adult sexual content, running the gamut of adult sexual themes.

Let me say it again: we are not asking for books to be burned or removed from libraries. We are simply saying that libraries and schools must keep books with sexually explicit content in adult collections, not in the children’s section. That’s it.

In Wyoming, we value parental rights. We trust families to teach their values, and we expect our public institutions to respect those boundaries.

The movement to properly place these books is not about silencing voices. It’s about ensuring that the public library doesn’t expose our children to sexual content that would make most adults sick—and rightly so.

Some say our efforts amount to moral panic. I say it’s moral clarity. There is nothing radical about defining what is appropriate for children and what is not.

In fact, this used to be a bipartisan value. It’s time we return to that standard and put the needs of our kids above the politics of outrage.

Wyoming families deserve better than slander and straw man arguments. They deserve leaders who are willing to stand up and say: Enough. Let’s get back to protecting our children.

Rep. Ann Lucas represents House District 43 in Cheyenne. She can be reached at: Ann.Lucas@wyoleg.gov

Editor's note: Cowboy State Daily was not among media outlets characterizing the Judiciary Committee’s efforts to address library selection as “book banning.” That phrase is a more accurate description of restrictions against book sale and publication, which the committee has not proposed.