Opinion: Iowa state Sens. Chapman and Zaun want to take us back to the Dark Ages
Iowa Republican state Sens. Jake Chapman and Brad Zaun support implementing a law that would allow bringing criminal charges against teachers and librarians who disseminate books deemed by them to be obscene.
According to The Gazette (Dec.12), these books’ contents include descriptions of sexuality or feature characters who are people of color describing their challenging life experiences. One of the books that Chapman and Zaun want banned is “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, about an American Indian boy who attends a predominantly white school off the reservation, and describes his experiences and challenges at his new school.
According to Todd Pettys, a law professor at the University of Iowa, the book contains a passage in which the narrator says that he masturbates, and another where a teacher’s innocent hug gives the narrator an erection. Other books that Zaun and Chapman deem obscene deal with homosexuality, bisexuality and those dealing with transgender identity.
In a Dec. 8 article in The Gazette, Chapman is quoted as saying, “As a father of five children, I can tell you if this material was in my school, I’d be going to law enforcement, I would be asking for a criminal investigation, and I would be asking for every single teacher who disseminated that information to be held criminally responsible,” going on to say he would do everything in his power as Senate president “to protect our children” by proposing legislation that would create a new felony offense for dissemination of obscene material to a minor.
Zaun issued his own warning to educators: “My warning to all the teachers and the administrators is you’re going to be in jail. Because this is distributing pornography.”
Zaun is a Catholic and Chapman is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is not surprising that anything dealing with sexual matters is disturbing to Zaun because the Catholic Church has rigid views regarding much of human sexuality; masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices are considered sins.
It has been well-documented that most humans have masturbated or have read something Zaun would deem pornographic. According to religioustolerance.org, an NBC report on chastity and the clergy found that "anywhere from 23% to 58%" of the Catholic clergy have a homosexual orientation.
According to Wikipedia, same-sex sexual activity is forbidden by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage. Adherents who participate in same-sex sexual behavior may face discipline: non-celibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive exaltation unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation.”
Zaun and Chapman are entitled to their religious beliefs, but they are not entitled to impose their beliefs on others. The banning of books dealing with matters that young people struggle with is cruel.
No teacher or librarian is forcing children to read anything; they have a job-related interest in making information available about the differences among us regarding our beliefs and practices. Historically, the books most threatened by censorship have been those that contained material about religion or sexuality. A vicious combination of these two factors is fueling the current censorship mania threatening books in public schools.
Persons like Chapman and Zaun reject the reality of the broad spectrum of human sexuality; they apparently believe that homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender identity are deviant behaviors that must be suppressed and eliminated. They are unable to accept that these behaviors are as old as human history, and it’s just that closets used to be more crowded; the numbers inside are thinning out as people emerge.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Opinion: Iowa Republicans want to take us back to the Dark Ages