Pornography Issues in Iowa?  Yes!

Did you know Iowa laws protecting minors from pornography are stuck back in the technology of 40 years ago?? That’s right: they target telephones! I mean landline rotary or pushbutton type phones!

Did you know pornography is not primarily delivered over telephones any more but over the internet on internet-capable devices? Do you think our laws need updating?? Absolutely, they do!

Did you know cell phones or any other internet-capable device have the capability to filter out pornography but the filtering software is turned “OFF”?? Why is the default mode on “OFF”? Why are they by default leaving children and families unprotected? Why is the onus on families to protect their children from pornography? Why are we making it easy on viewers of pornography but not on parents?? Do you believe we have to pass a law that filtering must be turned “ON”?? We shouldn’t have to, but unfortunately we do have to.

Did you know that schools and libraries are EXEMPT from having to obey Iowa laws outlawing obscenity (obscenity is the legal word covering pornography)??  Social media has been full of reports over the past couple months of Iowa parents that are discovering the results of allowing schools and libraries to be exempt. It evidently means you can throw decency and common sense out the window and let porn come on in to your kids’ schools! Some people might think this is a “Des Moines Metro” area problem because that’s where the reports are coming from….but it is not! I have discovered in a spot-check survey conducted across the state that this problem is all over the state. Books containing pornography are likely in your kids’ schools! The Florida Citizens’ Alliance has done the research for us and identified such books in their “Porn in Schools Report – 2019”. Concerned parents should investigate and take action.

I am sure there are many school officials unaware of the pornographic content in some of their books and I’m sure if they knew it, they would remove those books from their schools. But, unbelievably, I am hearing about pushback on this….I am hearing of some school and library officials actually defending having this kind of material in their inventory. Are they really defending pornography?? And exposing it to children?? This is entirely unacceptable and is for many Iowa parents!

Are we that desensitized that we have moved beyond apathy to defending exposing children to pornography? I sure hope not. We need to remember pornography fuels a variety of sexual harassment and sexual crimes, including sexual assault and sex trafficking, creating victims in its wake. It damages children, kills marriages, and introduces struggles and addictions families must deal with. Porn actually changes the physical functioning of the brain, causing addiction. It also grooms children and makes them prey to sexual exploitation.

Did you know there were 3 bills introduced last year in the legislature to deal with these issues: the archaic laws that speak of “telephones”, the filtering software turned “OFF”, and the loophole allowing schools and libraries to provide pornographic material?? Yes, I introduced them and could not get political will on any of them. I hope the social media firestorm and awareness brought by this article and others spur legislators to action!

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As your Senate representative to DC, I will fight to breakup the unholy alliance between the Department of Education, unions and Marxist teachers to restore the QUALITY IN EDUCATION.