Pastor Michael Shover of Christ the Redeemer Church in Pella, Iowa addressed the city council on Tuesday and told them they are all guilty of encouraging a minor to commit an act of delinquency.
Shover started his remarks by mentioning the reputation Pella likes to portray to its residents.
“The first thing I was told when I was considering moving here is ‘the great thing about Pella is, it’s a great place to raise your kids,'” he said. “That’s like the number one thing people say, you put that on the billboards — a great place to raise your kids. Is it? We’d like to keep it that way.”
Shover then read a number of laws from Iowa law as well as Pella municipal law. He said this law “hits home.”
“It is unlawful for any person to encourage any child under 18 years of age to commit any act of delinquency,” he said. “Are you encouraging young children under the age of 18 to commit acts of delinquency by allowing them to expose their breasts in public? If it’s acceptable at the public pool, then is that acceptable in the public square? Could this person, could all of these women walk around with their tops off during Tulip Time and say, ‘hey, that’s just fine.’
“The neighbor across the street, he’s a runner, he runs with his shirt off. He’s a man, he’s physically fit, no one says anything to him. Why? Because he doesn’t have female breasts. But if a female were to run down the street, I’m certain the cops would be called. But not in the public pool? Is there some reason that around that gate that no longer the law applies? Does law not apply? I’m asking you now, what is the law? What is the public delinquency law or the law for indecent exposure? Do you not care? Do you not care?”
Shover warned the council that once it allows one thing to happen, it will absolutely fall on the other foot.
“If you allow a young female to defy all laws of biological science, logic, rationality, the natural order of everything that we know to be good, right and true in the world and we cover our eyes and say ‘no longer is truth, truth anymore.’ If you do that, then you have just opened up the gate to men to do that,” he said. “And the men can then go into the female locker room and again they can expose their genitals to our daughters — is that what you want? Is that what you want for your granddaughters? Because that’s what you’re allowing ultimately.”
His final point was to protect the biological teenaged female herself.
“What if this encourages other young people to get the wild-haired idea that they can go around and expose their breasts where ever they want,” he said. “And who’s to say there might be some unsavory folk when they do that at some other place who might have other bad intentions? Who then might take the opportunity to violate such a person because now they have the opportunity — their breasts are being exposed, and who knows the way that crazy people think? They might do something about that. They might act upon that. So, by allowing this to continue, I think you are contributing to, what does the law say…it is unlawful for any person to encourage any child under 18 years of age to commit any act of delinquency.
“You’re all guilty. You’re all guilty.”
