Linda Thorson, State Director, Concerned Women for America, Edinburg

People fall into three groups regarding children: children, those who protect children, or those who wish to bring harm to children. Thankfully, a great majority of our lawmakers desire to protect minors from access to obscene material and pornography as defined by the North Dakota Obscenity Code in tax-payer-funded libraries.

Pornographic written material has been found in children’s sections of public libraries and school libraries across North Dakota. And yet, we have people in the press who believe removing any books from the library is censorship.

Some even propose children have unrestricted access to all material despite the traumatic effects obscenity may have that can lead to “significant distress, disruptive behaviors, compulsive sexuality, and even suicidal attempts,” says Caroline Giroux, Associate Clinic Professor, in her article “Early Exposure to Pornography; A form of Sexual Trauma.”

The American Library Association (ALA) is not willing to protect children from harm. They say it violates the Library Bill of Rights for “library policies and procedures to effectively deny minors equal and equitable access to all library resources available to other users.”

Allowing children to view sexually explicit material is child abuse. This illegal activity, as defined under the definition for mandatory reporters, requires professionals such as educators, law enforcement officials, medical providers, and counselors to report suspected abuse to Child Protection Services (CPS).

There are Internet Safety Policies that block certain materials from being accessed through the Internet in libraries and schools, as required by the Children Internet Protection Act (CIPA) established in 2000.

Protecting children from the harmful impacts of exposure to pornography should include removing obscene written material from children’s sections of public and school libraries. Concerned Women for America of North Dakota is grateful for every lawmaker working to make libraries safe places for children.