Contact: State Rep. Sally Kern
Capitol: (405) 557-7348
Oklahoma City: (405) 942-3504

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 8, 2006) – Lawmakers voted today to withhold state funding from public libraries that do not "place all children and young adult materials that contain homosexual or sexually explicit subject matter in a special area of the library."

House Bill 2158, by State Rep. Sally Kern, would encourage libraries to implement special children’s sections for books dealing with age-sensitive material.

Kern said the bill, which passed with bipartisan support in a House committee, will encourage libraries to ensure parents know the content of children’s books before a child reads them.

"This Legislature passes laws all the time to protect children," said Kern, R-Oklahoma City. "Last year we passed a ‘fit kids’ bill that specified what kind of food school vending machines could contain to improve nutrition and reduce childhood obesity. Isn’t the mind, heart and soul of a child just as important as his or her weight?"

She said a special shelving policy will ensure the state does not undermine parental authority or expose children to material before they are emotionally mature enough to understand it.

"The mind is the greatest computer ever made and what we put in it will come out later," said Kern, a former teacher. "If we expose children to sexual material without parental knowledge and guidance, we’re programming them for destruction."

She noted that children exposed to sexual material without parental guidance often engage in risky behaviors later.

Kern first became involved in the library issue after parents in her district learned their child had obtained a library book that dealt with the issue of homosexuality. The book, "King & King," is marketed for ages 6 and up.

Recently, other parents were upset to learn a child had obtained a copy of the teen-marketed book, "Perks of Being a Wallflower." Among other things, that book deals with homosexuality, bestiality, forced sodomy, oral sex, incest and necrophilia.

During the 2005 legislative session, members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 81-3 to support a resolution authored by Kern that urged library officials to place children’s books dealing with sexual themes in a special section.

Polling indicates the shelving proposal has the support of 88 percent of Oklahoma voters. A statewide poll conducted in April 2005 by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates found that 42 percent of Oklahoma voters supported banning books such as "King & King" and 46 percent supported withholding public funding from libraries that fail to restrict access.

House Bill 2158 passed out of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee early Wednesday and now awaits a vote from the entire Oklahoma House of Representatives.