Knox County Commission advances resolution to 'protect the innocence of children'
Knox County commissioners advanced a resolution from Rhonda Lee that would "express the commission's commitment to protecting the innocence of children." Lee said the purpose of the resolution is for the body to make a statement, not to dictate what residents can and can't do.
"It doesn't do anything to change the crime," Lee said.
The resolution says that children's exposure to sexualized behavior could cause them to "act out with other children at home or school." While it does list statistics about sexual assault and human trafficking, it doesn't explicitly say what "sexualized behaviors" Lee is referring to.
"There's not a list of activities we're (prohibiting or endorsing)," Lee, the District 7 commissioner in the north part of the county, said at the Sept. 18 meeting.
Commissioner Larsen Jay questioned Lee's intent and whether the resolution was a precursor to restricting library programs or dictating what the county health department can and can't do. Lee said that was not her intention.
Jay referenced a resolution in Ottawa County, Michigan, with the same language as Lee's. That resolution was passed this summer as a direct response to that county's health department participating in an LGBTQ+ pride event.
The only vote against the resolution was from Courtney Durrett, who said she obviously was against the sexualization of children, but was concerned the resolution was a gateway to other policies.
Commissioner Kyle Ward was not at the meeting.
The original version of Lee's resolution banned county resources from being used for activities or events that "support, normalize or encourage the sexualization of children and youth." It didn't describe what potentially problematic events would look like or enumerate what those elements could include.
That section was removed before the meeting, but the rest of it stayed intact.
Knox County Deputy Law Director Michael Moyers said the wording was changed because the law office wanted the resolution to be aspirational, not directive. The section effectively directed the mayor how to write his budget. Commissioner John Schoonmaker said he was concerned with the original version, but is more comfortable with the funding directive removed.
The county commission will meet again Sept. 25 to vote on the resolution.
Allie Feinberg reports on politics. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Commission advances resolution on 'innocence of children'
