Penguin Random House and bestselling authors sue Iowa over school book-banning law

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 376 points – Penguin Random House and bestselling authors sue Iowa over school book-banning law
nbcnews.com

The nation’s largest publisher and several bestselling authors, including novelists John Green and Jodi Picoult, are part of a lawsuit filed Thursday challenging Iowa’s new law that bans public school libraries and classrooms from having practically any book that depicts sexual activity.

The lawsuit is the second in the past week to challenge the law, which bans books with sexual content all the way through 12th grade. An exception is allowed for religious texts.

Penguin Random House and four authors joined several teachers, a student and the Iowa State Education Association — the state’s teachers union representing 50,000 current and former public school educators — in filing the federal lawsuit.

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“It’s also created the paradox that under Iowa law, a 16-year-old student is old enough to consent to sex but not old enough to read about it in school,” Novack said.

I'll be interested in finding out how Iowa's lawyers try to pretzel themselves out of that one.

1920s New York Mayor Jimmy Walker once vetoed a book ban. "No girl ever ended up in trouble [pregnant] because she was reading a book."

What about that girl yesterday who got addicted to porn because she read a book that had kissing? Checkmate liberals.

"He was probably a liberal!"

I think being sued by John Green must feel a lot like being sued by Mr Rogers.

Conservatives HATE John Green because he is an intelligent member of society informing teenagers on real life issues and has a history of supporting education. These are things they can't stand.

John Green is a Christian and was a student Chaplain at a hospital. I doubt they can do the religion dance with him either.

His brother Hank is Atheist IIRC, and people have asked them before how that affects their relationship. They basically answered "what do you mean, why would it?" So while they can try to take that angle I doubt it'd go over well.

I love the Green bros.

To those who dont know john, hes an OG youtube guy who along with his brother Hank used to run Vidcon and who still run just buckets of charities, including building a hospital to limit child mortality in Sierra leone.

Most recently, john was so passionate about tuberculosis treatment and how pharmacies were gouging 3rd world countires for the cure, that the internet forced the big players to sell the drugs at cost, which the aid orgs that they work with confirmed. This likely saved millions of lives/yr.

This is a good, thoughtful guy who not only cares, but who actively tries to help.

An exception is allowed for religious texts.

Well, sounds like it's time to abuse the ever living shit out of that.

Inb4 Satanic Temple come in.

Right? Take their exceptionalism and put it in our hats!

There’s a story written by Enheduanna that’s got wonderful room to be used here

“It’s also created the paradox that under Iowa law, a 16-year-old student is old enough to consent to sex but not old enough to read about it in school,” Novack said.

Zing

That's not a paradox. That's predation.

The law also bans books containing references to sexual orientation and gender identity for students through sixth grade, which the lawsuit says is a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Ok, so that bans any book where the child protagonist lives with their mother and father, right? Straight is an orientation, too. Arthur, Bernstein Bears, Clifford the Big Red Dog, you’ve all got to go.

^bans books with sexual content all the way through 12th grade. An exception is allowed for religious texts.

Let's go ahead and add a first ammendment challenge in there for respecting The establishment of religion in there as well.

And since it's all books I guess you'll need to rewrite your biology curriculum to remove anything related to sex as well.

And since it’s all books I guess you’ll need to rewrite your biology curriculum to remove anything related to sex as well.

Don't give them any ideas.

Yeah they’ve opposed sex ed since it was a new concept. Even now that we know it reduces teen pregnancy and teen sexual activity rates when done correctly they insist on banning it or doing it in a way that increases these things.

Now I should add, idgaf if teens are fucking each other so long as it’s between consenting peers and they’re not spreading disease or skipping out on their education for it. But these people do have a problem with it and so good sex ed should be a no brainer.

Meanwhile these people probably want to censor the reproductive systems of plants

So, the taxpayer has to pay for the law makers to come up with a silly law, and then pay the court costs when it gets challenged. Meanwhile, the people suing have less time and money to work the coming election. Win/win for the fascists.

“Look at where democracy gets you”- the cry of the fascist who abused systems built on an assumption of good faith

Good. I don't know how these book bands haven't gotten them sued before.

Mainly because they're going after schools, where it's already been ruled that the right of free speech can be restricted (they can mandate clothing rules and punish kids for swearing as two examples), but I'm thinking this is a big step too far even for the courts. Unless the courts have been stacked, obviously.

Unless the courts have been stacked, obviously.

I'm sure glad that hasn't happened.

The most amusing bit was where they said they could send a student home for wearing a top with spaghetti straps but they could not require the students to wear face masks because that would violate their rights. Fun times.