Democrats erupt over ‘book ban’ that would bar sexual material from school libraries

On April 15, Democrats in a North Carolina House committee vigorously objected to a measure that would ban sexually-explicit materials from public school libraries.

House Bill 636, entitled “Promoting Wholesome Content for Students,” would direct local public school units to adopt policies for reviewing library media to ensure it is age-appropriate, has literary value, and complies with laws like the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

The bill directs for the creation of a community library advisory committee, composed of parents and school personnel, to review materials. Parents, guardians, or residents could file lawsuits against school districts for violations, with damages up to $5,000 per violation, plus attorney fees.

The measure also directs the State Board of Education to maintain a publicly accessible database of library media rejected by local school units.

“Very simply, [this bill] is about pornography and not allowing pornography in our public school libraries,” said state Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore, one of the bill’s sponsors. “It’s about protecting our kids.”

But the debate in the House Education Committee quickly turned contentious, as Democrats accused the supporters of the bill of paving the way for censorship.

State Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, cited classic works of literature such as “The Color Purple,” “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and “The Grapes of Wrath,” arguing that the bill’s language around explicit content could prohibit such books from libraries. 

“That’s book banning. That’s censorship,” Morey said. “I have very serious concerns that this is total censorship — that the book ‘1984,’ which has been banned in many libraries, is coming true in 2025.”

Another sponsor of HB 636 — state Rep. David Willis, R-Union — pushed back on the claims of censorship and said the debate was becoming “personally offensive.”

“When you look at the US Supreme Court ruling on this and the language that we’ve got in statute today, it clearly defines what is vulgar, what is obscene, and what is pornography,” Willis said. “No one’s going to get arrested for reading ‘The Color Purple.’ No one’s going to get arrested for reading ‘1984.’ You might get arrested if you’re sitting there talking about how to penetrate yourself with toys as a 9-year-old.”

Jackson also rebuffed Democrats’ claims of book banning.

“This is absolutely not book banning,” he said. “If you go back to the 1982 Pico v. Board of Education [decision], they clearly said it’s not a violation of the First Amendment to remove books that are pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable. So, I feel like we are on good legal ground to do what we’re doing. All we’re doing is standing up for parental rights.”

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