Bill would hold school employees criminally liable for stocking porn on library shelves
a crime for anyone else, but school employees currently exempt from prosecution
Disseminating porn to kids can land you in jail for up to 5 years under state law, but school and public library employees are specifically exempt from prosecution even if the material lacks any educational value to the child.
State Representative John Gaskey wants to change that.
“There needs to be a voice of reason, even if mine is the only one,” the Carver Republican says, describing the bill as “a moral stand to protect children.”
The bill does not criminalize common sex education materials, but does target content lacking educational value of only prurient interest of minors.
Distributing porn to kids would otherwise be a crime for anyone else, but state law carves out an exemption for a “bona fide school, museum or library, or was acting in the course of [your] employment as an employee of such organization.”
Gaskey acknowledges that the bill has become a “hot button” issue, especially as school districts have been embroiled in controversy regarding sex ed curriculums.
“While our ill-informed detractors want to characterize our efforts as merely banning books, we are seeking consistency of definitions and actions. Our children’s safety deserves no less,” said DeeDee Dorrington of ProtectKids25, a group backing House Bill 2042 originally filed by State Representative David Vieira.
Earlier this year Gaskey attempted to attach the bill as an amendment to a piece of foster-care legislation but House leadership denied his motion on procedural grounds.
Gaskey said the Massachusetts Teachers Association is significant opponent of the legislation. In his view schools should “focus on academics and allow the family and community to shape the world view of the kids.”
Specifically the bill strikes the last sentence of Section 28, Chapter 272: “It shall also be a defense in a prosecution under this section if the evidence proves that the defendant was a bona fide school, museum or library, or was acting in the course of his employment as an employee of such organization or of a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purpose of such organization.”