Founder of group that opposes book bans files ethics complaint against Iowa lawmaker

The founder of a nonprofit that opposes book removals in Iowa has filed an ethics complaint against a state representative alleging defamation.

Sara Hayden Parris is the president of Annie's Foundation, a group that draws attention to book bans and hands out free copies of books that have been challenged or removed from libraries. Annie's Foundation volunteers have traveled to several communities across Iowa in recent months to stage book giveaways in response to Senate File 496, a sweeping education law passed in May that prohibits instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade and bans books depicting sex acts from schools.

Hayden Parris filed an ethics complaint Wednesday with the Iowa House clerk alleging Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, broke the Iowa House code of ethics and used social media to defame her and falsely accuse her of breaking the law by giving obscene material to children.

Her complaint refers to a back-and-forth thread they had on X, formerly known as Twitter, in January.

The complaint reflects the ongoing debate in Iowa over whether sexual content or images of nude characters or body parts turns a book into pornography.

"Representative Shipley made this statement with the intent to harm my reputation and encourage other like-minded individuals to attack me," the complaint says. "Because of his dangerous accusations, I am frequently called a groomer and pedophile by people who support Representative Shipley."

More: Annie's Foundation founder Sara Hayden Parris goes 'above and beyond' to counter book bans

Is it porn? Heated discussion on social media takes a turn

Shipley told the Des Moines Register in an email he should have stopped once he said Hayden Parris needed to be criminally investigated because "it's not my job to judge the law and the complainant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."

However, Shipley said, the comments were provoked by "patently offensive statements made by the complainant that were excessively sexual in nature."

He pointed to a Facebook comment from Hayden Parris that said "Look, just cuz it makes YOUR naughty bits tingle, doesn't mean it's porn." The Register could not immediately find the comment on Facebook, but Hayden Parris also referenced it in her complaint.

Hayden Parris wrote that she does not use her personal social media account to speak on behalf of Annie's Foundation. She also pointed out that Shipley had posted images from certain controversial books on his own website. Shipley has since removed them, he told the Register. In his email, he also asked the Register to broadcast some of the images to test the validity of the complaint.

Republican legislators who passed Senate File 496, which Shipley supported, have said the goal was to boost parental rights while keeping only "age-appropriate" materials in school libraries. Opponents of the law have said it amounts to censorship and discrimination against LGBTQ students while falsely portraying literature as porn.

The Des Moines Register has documented more than 1,200 books and 470 unique titles removed from school shelves due to Senate File 496. In late December, a judge ruled the state cannot enforce the book removal or curriculum restrictions while lawsuits filed against the law continue.

The Iowa House Ethics Committee could hold a hearing to determine the validity of Hayden Parris' complaint, according to the process outlined in ethics rules.

Rep. Jeff Shipley calls comments of Annie's Foundation founder 'super creepy'

Hayden Parris' complaints centers on several posts Shipley made on X on Jan. 12 in a thread about the possible restructuring of Iowa's Area Education Agencies. The Register reviewed the posts.

Shipley wrote that districts should have more authority and flexibility over their budgets. In a reply, Annie's Foundation wrote "but not the authority and flexibility for teachers and librarians to purchase the books they see fit for their classrooms and libraries, huh."

Shipley then replied, "If age appropriate, they can do as they wish. Adults such as yourself peddling materials of lascivious nature need to be criminally investigated under 728.2," referring to Iowa's law that makes providing obscene material to children a misdemeanor. He also attached an image of the Facebook comment from Hayden Parris' personal account and called Hayden Parris' comments "super creepy."

The thread continued, and Annie's Foundation wrote: "We're not scared of your pathetic attempts to smear us. Accusing people you don't know of criminal conduct is unbecoming of your office and it's going to get you in trouble, Representative."

Shipley responded: "No, it's going to get YOU into trouble. You're violating Iowa law." And the exchange went on as Shipley wrote "your perverted books like Gender Queer violate federal obscenity law," and Annie's Foundation wrote Shipley is "bad at this."

More: Which banned books have been removed from Iowa schools? Our updated database lists them

What does Iowa Code 728 say about obscene material?

Several organizers and politicians who have expressed concerns about books they believe are inappropriate for school libraries have often pointed to Iowa Code 728, which deals with obscenity. Section 728.2 of the code makes an adult "who knowingly disseminates or exhibits obscene material to a minor" guilty of a misdemeanor.

Some organizers have drawn a connection between the law and the blunt sexual content in a handful of frequently challenged books, such as the memoirs of LGBTQ authors "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe and "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson.

In late 2021, a group of residents asked the Polk County Attorney's Office to investigate the West Des Moines school district under Iowa Code 728 over the presence of "Gender Queer" and "All Boys Aren't Blue," both coming-of-age memoirs, in West Des Moines schools. "Gender Queer" contains visual images of sexual activity, masturbation, nudity and sexual fantasy, while "All Boys Aren't Blue" has multiple passages describing sexual activity, including a sexual assault that had a lasting impact on Johnson's life.

But organizers and groups like Annie's Foundation say that the definition of obscenity does not include literature, including books in Iowa schools. Iowa Code 728 itself defines "obscene material" as work that "appeals to the prurient interest and is patently offensive" and that "taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political or artistic value."

For Hayden Parris, that definition wouldn't apply to award-winning, well-reviewed books like "Gender Queer" or "All Boys Aren't Blue," or the hundreds of other books that have been removed under Senate File 496, which does not consider the literary or artistic merit of a material as a whole.

"Obscene books do not exist in Iowa schools," Hayden Parris wrote in her complaint, "and I do not hand out obscene books to minors, either in my individual capacity nor in my role at Annie's Foundation."

Chris Higgins covers the eastern and northern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Book ban opponent files ethics complaint against Iowa Rep. Jeff Shipley