100 Books in Question In Murray

A rock star group of 30 parents stood up for their beliefs, as everyone in America is entitled to do. They put together this list of books and sent it to their district.

Here is the list they sent to the district:
https://docs.google.com/…/1g4eP3gAdrjB0beBbO_qCnxIJ3Mz…/edit

Here is the letter that was sent:

​Dear Administration:
We are cautiously optimistic that this email addresses an issue where administrators and parents can find mutual common ground and understanding. Prior to Canyons School District pulling some books from their libraries for further review based on obscene and sexually explicit content, we had begun compiling a list of books in Murray that also contain sexually explicit passages and pictures using the District's online catalog: https://destiny.murrayschools.org/. Soon we began to realize that we weren't just dealing with a handful of books - there are dozens and dozens of sexually explicit books in the libraries, especially Murray High, but also the other schools. The non-exhaustive list of over 100 books is attached. As you will see, the attachment contains quotes, passages, excerpts, scenes and pictures that are in many cases downright obscene and disgusting, contain graphic descriptions of rape, downplay pedophilia, encourage sexual obsession and pornography addiction, and groom children to question their gender. We stopped at about 100 or so books - only because we had to stop somewhere and we were tired of wading through filth.
The attached document lists many books, in MCSD libraries, that have no place in the hands of a child and attempt to normalize deviant behavior and attitudes. ****WARNING: THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT CONTAINS GRAPHIC AND EXPLICIT DESCRIPTIONS OF SEX, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, AND OBSCENE LANGUAGE.
Our goal is not to ban books. We want children to expand their minds and have access to resources expressing many different viewpoints, cultures, and ideas. We don't want books removed just because we may disagree or dislike certain ideas, theories, or philosophies. However, at the end of the day, these are our children that we have entrusted into your care. It is our duty to protect them from pornography and explicit descriptions of rape, gratuitous sex, sex between teenagers, incest, bestiality, and body parts in school libraries. Taxpayer money should not be wasted on crude and disgusting smut with little literary or educational value.
The District seems to be very committed to school safety and Digital and Online safety - as evidenced by regular trainings. Is it not equally important for our children to be protected from sexually explicit garbage, that is not age-appropriate, sitting right at their fingertips on the shelves of our school libraries? We want to be clear that we are not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. Many of these books are likely being pushed into our schools from outside sources and we are giving the benefit of the doubt to librarians and others who likely do not have the time to read every book that is approved. Despite the media's rhetoric to the contrary, our school board, administration and librarians do have, and should exercise, the power to make decisions that protect children by limiting their access to inappropriate materials. Supreme Court decisions have made that clear.
We are requesting that: 1) you review the attachment and remove those books that are obviously not appropriate to be in the hands of minors, pursuant to Utah Code 76-10-1203; 2) this review takes place before we submit a separate challenge form with respect to each book; and 3) after you remove the obviously offensive books, we then submit challenge forms for any additional books we feel should be removed, but were not. Although many of these books would be offensive even to adults, we ask that you look at these books from the eyes of a child.
We want to work together, not to grandstand or to ban books, but to do a thoughtful, thorough review that puts children first and protects them from dangerous images, harmful content, and over-sexualized agendas. At some point, it would be nice to open a dialogue about the process/system for the selection of books, including additional, worthwhile books that could be in our libraries. But first, let's focus on removing the obviously pornographic and sexually explicit books.
Sincerely,
[30 parents]