I’m formally requesting an investigation into the illegal adult content materials available to children under 18, violating state law, 649 & 650, local Dover law #41, and federal law.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/obscenity
Local authorities, see list below …
All <CityCouncil-All@dover.nh.gov>
… have been publicly and through email, asked to review, remove and properly display sexually explicit books per law. They continue to ignore this request. This act violates the law and continued exposure to adult content is and will create a mental health crisis for school-age children.
Seventy-five books (excel list attached – or PDF with screenshots – content warning), with more to be determined, that meet or exceed the description of the law on adult content exist in the Dover public library, schools online, and physical libraries within the schools that parents have no access to. This is not isolated to Dover. It is all over NH towns. I also attached random book excerpts and pics for review. There are too many to include. Therefore, just a few were selected. More can be produced if needed.
No one is above the law, but the city refuses to answer for its actions and illegal distribution of sexually explicit materials, aka pornography. Studies prove pornography can cause severe mental health issues in adults. From drug and alcohol addiction to inability to function in society and relationships, crime, and other problems. There are studies available that it’s worse for children. See links to a few of many studies on the effects of pornography exposure to children. Along with pornography, there’s rape, pedophilia, and drug and alcohol abuse. As you know, we are in a drug crisis in NH. These books are enabling this growing problem!
Dr. Sharon Cooper, MD Discusses How Pornography Harms Children
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/child_law_practice/vol-33/may-2014/how-pornography-harms-children–the-advocate-s-role/#:~:text=Conclusion,increasing%20the%20risk%20of%20addiction
Public Library:
Books have been found and identified in the children’s (toddler to teens) section. The “adult graphic novels” are in the same area as the teen section. Sexually explicit books are kept at toddler level and openly displayed in the teen section. Parents can be there to review books but they are not displayed according to law, therefore, if a child is unaccompanied by a parent, they can easily access pornography in these sections. These books need to be identified and properly placed in the adult section. The current appeal process for books is to fill out a 4-page detailed form for each book. Then the same people who put the books there to begin with are the review board!? They have not moved one obscene book out of the children’s rooms and placed them according to the law.
SORA:
The online library used by schools. When pornography books are accessed, there are links to pornography websites and more explicit books. Parents do not have assess to SORA. Even the SB doesn’t have access. Yes, you can delete the app from your child’s Chromebook, but it’s available in the classroom. Its tentacles are deep and need to be investigated and regulated. Parents need to have rights to consent and access their children’s online accounts!
SCHOOLS:
School libraries are where children are supposed to be safe, yet have uninhibited access to pornography and parents cannot be there to review and decide if the material is appropriate. School library catalog material is available to see titles through the city website, but each teacher has private classroom libraries parents cannot access or know what’s in them to discern whether they are appropriate.
RATINGS:
There are so many laws to protect children for a reason! Seatbelts, smoking, drinking, labor, abuse, neglect, and yes, pornography.
A rating system has been developed for books based on the motion picture parental ratings, see attached. Since we cannot trust city officials, librarians, and teachers to follow the laws, a rating system for books is long overdue.
Other systems set up to protect children:
The movies; Motion picture worked with independent panels of adults to come up with a rating system. This system is widely used by parents to decide if the movie is appropriate for their children or not. https://www.motionpictures.org/film-ratings/
Video games; Video games entered the rating system in 2013: https://www.esrb.org/
Music; in 1985, it was wildly argued to place ratings on music. There is no rating system, but the FCC has strict rules about content.
These groups are not even taxpayer-funded! This will be addressed at the state level.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not about “banning” books. This is NOT about gender. These books hide under the protection of gay, race, and rainbow activist, yet these books are sexually explicit, abusive, violent, and oppress them. All genders are at risk. Most of these books are on hetero relations. Regardless, they are harmful, violent, and mental health risk, and illegal. This is also not an attack on first amendment rights; children do not have rights to adult content.
I respectfully await your reply.
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