Democrat Iowa House candidate Tiara Mays is challenging Republican State Rep. Eddie Andrews in House District 43. Andrews has been a solid voice for the district as he has displayed an ability to vote independently rather than doing what Republican leadership may want him to do.
More importantly, Andrews supported Republican efforts to keep obscene materials out of public schools. Keeping obscene materials away from children isn’t something legislators just started to work toward. In 2019, the Iowa Senate voted unanimously to prohibit parents from providing obscene materials to their own children. Not just unanimously among Republicans, but every Democrat who voted on the bill also voted for it.
Yet now, in 2024, keeping obscene material from children is a partisan issue. Democrats have decided they are willing to die on the hill of allowing teachers and school librarians to provide obscene materials to school children. Admittedly, it’s a bold strategy.
Enter Mays. Mays tweeted last week that “book bans almost always target books by (or about) queers (sic) folks and people of color. Erasure is the goal.”
That was her statement the day that the court upheld SF496. So, clearly, Mays believes obscene materials should be readily available to kids in school libraries.
We have asked Mays to answer several questions on the issue. Here they are:
*Has seen Mays viewed the pictures in the book “Gender Queer?” Like the actual pictures from the actual book that was at the center of the debate. If you haven’t seen the images, and you prefer to see exactly what we’re debating, go here. We published about a dozen pages from the book.
*After seeing the pictures in the book, does Mays still believe the book belongs in public school libraries?
*After publishing the story with those images from the book, Google said the story contained adult sexual content. Facebook said the story violated its community standards on sexual activity. So, we asked if she believes Google and Facebook should have higher standards for what can be seen than Iowa school libraries?
*We also asked if she believes Google and Facebook are attempting to “erase” queer folks by labeling “Gender Queer” as containing adult sexual content and violating community standards on sexual activity.
*We then asked Mays if she is familiar with the book “Flamer.” And we included this link for reference.
*In “Flamer,” there is an excerpt where the middle-school-aged boy goes into the tent of other middle-school-aged boys at a summer camp. The boys are playing a “game” and tell the new boy he can join them if he “takes care of business.”
It turns out, this is what they meant…
“We’re each busting a load into this bottle. If you don’t cum, you have to drink it! Hahahaha!”
So we asked Mays if she believes a book with such a story in it belongs in a public school library.
*We asked Mays if there is any topic, any description of any activity or a photo of any activity that could be included in a book that would make her think the book should not be in a public library. For example, would Mays support putting hardcore pornographic magazines in school libraries?
*Finally, we pointed out the fact that in 2019 every Democrat in the Iowa Senate voted to prohibit parents from providing obscene material to their kids. So we asked Mays if she believes Iowa parents should be prohibited from providing obscene materials to their own children but it is OK for public school teachers and librarians to provide the same obscene materials to children.
Mays hasn’t responded to our questions as of publication. But if and when she does respond, we will gladly publish her answers.
In the meantime, voters should presume that Mays supports these materials being in public school libraries. Materials that Google said contain adult sexual content. Materials that Facebook said violate its community standards on sexual activity. Materials that discuss ejaculating into a pop bottle and anyone who doesn’t do it needs to drink what is in the bottle.
House District 43 voters should get answers from Mays on these questions.
From top to bottom, the democrats have gone completely undemocratic and demonic.