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Book Banning: Good Or Bad Idea?

Jillian Snell

NUAMES Davis

English 1010: Introductory College Writing

Rebecca Miner

November 13th, 2022

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Book Banning: Good Or Bad Idea?

Book banning is a form of censorship that dates back to the 16th and 17th century.

Recently, book banning has been at an all time high in school districts across the U.S. In recent

discussions of book banning, a controversial issue has been whether removing books from school

libraries and classrooms is beneficial or not. On the one hand, some argue that removing certain

books is harmful because it violates the first amendment and targets books involving stories of

LGBTQ+ and people of color. On the other hand, however, others argue that removing certain

books is necessary to protect children from obscene material in books. This paper will discuss

the book banning issue specifically in Utah school districts and focus on the most challenged

books in Utah, what those against book banning say, and what those for book banning say.

The Most Challenged Books In Utah

The American Library Association (ALA) keeps track of all challenged books across the

country, but does not ban them. The ALA’s official definition for a challenge is “an attempt to

remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” A challenge can be

issued by any individual –usually a parent or librarian– and is the first step in the process of

getting a book banned. In the opinion piece published in the Salt Lake Tribune, titled “Utah

school district pulls 52 books after concerns and flagged another for 32” (August 2, 2022),

author Courtney Tanner lists and describes the most challenged books in Alpine School District,

Utah’s largest school district. “Gender Queer”, “Lawn Boy”, “All Boys Aren’t Blue”, “Out of

Darkness”, “Milk and Honey” and “The Hate U Give” are all books included in that list. Some

argue that those books should be accessible to those who want to read them, but others argue that
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they contain inappropriate, graphic material that shouldn’t be seen by children, especially those

in younger grades. The viewpoints of both sides will be further broken down in the upcoming

sections of this paper.

What Those Against Book Banning Say

There are several reasons as to why some people are against book banning. One of those

reasons being that banning books supposedly violates the First Amendment. First Amendment

advocates are speaking out, as they believe the banning of books or even removing them from

shelves without thorough inspection is a violation of the amendment. They argue that book

censorship prohibits freedom of expression. In an opinion piece written for The Deseret News,

titled “Book banning is alive and well in Utah” (April 2, 2022), author Jason Groth argues

“although students rights under the First Amendment are subject to some restrictions at school,

prohibiting or limiting students’ access to library books because some parents or administrators

disagree with their viewpoints is never allowed.” Opponents of book banning say that children

should be able to think for themselves and form their own opinions without interference from

parents or school administration. Groth is a deputy director of the ACLU, and in his opinion

piece he writes about investigating complaints about two recently removed books from

Washington County, “The Hate U Give” and “Out Of Darkness.” Groth states, “their removal

was guided by biased, arbitrary procedures and because individuals and groups disagreed with

ideas in the books. Such actions by school districts can violate the Constitution.” Along with

violating the First Amendment, another reason why some people are against book banning is

because of unfair reasoning. Those for book banning say that certain books should be banned
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because they contain inappropriate, graphic, obscene material, but those against book banning

argue that it’s actually because the books contain stories about LGBTQ members and people of

color. Groth asserts that, “adults’ discomfort with or dislike of honest and accurate discussions of

racism, anti-Blackness, sexism and other issues is not a valid justification to remove or limit

access to a book.” Another reason why some are against book banning is because it prohibits

books that students might need. There aren’t many books out there about LGBTQ or race topics,

so it is unfair to ban the ones that do exist. In an Op-Ed published in the Washington Post titled

“Schools are banning my book. But queer kids need queer books.” (October 29th, 2021), author

Maia Kobabe argues how their recently challenged book “Gender Queer” should remain in

school shelves. Kobabe talks about their experience as a queer kid, and how being able to relate

to queer books helped them through difficult times. Kobabe asks for her books to remain on

shelves and says, “as a queer teen, I desperately needed them, And the queer teens of today need

them too.” Opponents of book banning argue that you don’t need to read books you don't agree

with, but that doesn’t mean you should take them away from people who do want to read them.

The last reason that will be discussed for why some people are against book banning is that it is

insulting to the authors. In his letter addressed to Charles McCarthy (1973), Kurt Vonnegut,

author of Slaughterhouse-Five asserts that book banning is wrong by addressing the burning of

his book at Drake High School and how it was harmful. By supplying the reader with

information about how banning books is insulting to the authors and damaging to the American

Society, Vonnegut wishes to convey to readers the importance of the freedom to read. Vonnegut

builds his claims about the freedom to read in order to persuade the audience that it is beneficial

to let all ideas circulate, and not just your own. He states in his letter, “ Perhaps you will learn
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from this that books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been

fought against nations which hate books and burn them. If you are an American, you must allow

all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.” All reasons given above

are reasons for why book banning is looked down upon by some. Now, we will transition to the

part of the literature review where we go over the viewpoints of those for book banning.

What Those For Book Banning Say

Just like how there are reasons for why some are against book banning, there are also

reasons for why some people are for book banning. One main reason why some believe that

book banning is necessary is because certain books contain obscene material like pornography.

In an opinion piece published in The Deseret News, titled “It’s not discrimination — we are

protecting children from pornography” (October 6th 2022), Ken Ivory, a member of the Utah

House of representatives, argues that banning certain books in school libraries is valid because

they contain explicit content like pornography, not because of discussion about LGBTQ, race,

etc. Ivory states that the material in these banned books are so explicit that they cannot be

described in newspapers or even school board meanings. Ivory suggests that everyone can agree

that there should be some limits to the material accessible in school libraries, so banning books

with explicit sexual content shouldn’t be a problem. Ivory claims that the material in banned

books match up with the material described in Utah Code 76-10-1227, a code that details

“sensitive materials” that have “no serious values for minors.” Along with Ivory, those for book

banning suggest that pornography and other graphic material should not be accessible to

children, especially in younger grades. Ivory states in his paper, “a recent Rassmussen Survery
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shows that 69% of voters believe books containing explicit sexual depictions of sex acts, should

not be present in public high school libraries. This number rises to 79% for middle schools and

85% for elementary schools.” Some parents also believe that it is solely up to them to protect

their children from obscene material now, because parents cannot trust organizations like the

ALA to protect them anymore. In an opinion piece titled “Parents Must Protect Children from

Offensive Materials in Books” (2012), Texas-based author Erin Manning claims that parents

cannot trust the American Library Association to protect children from explicit content in books

or explicit books in general. Manning argues that “Banned Book Week”, a week dedicated to

celebrating the freedom to read banned books, held by the ASA at the end of September,

undermines the concerns of parents and reintroduces harmful material to students that should

have never been published in the first place. Manning says that by holding “Banned Book

Week”, the ASA enforces the claim that parents only have the right to censor what their children

reads and not request the removal of “obscene books” from school libraries and classroom

shelves. Manning states that parents should have the right to both and that the ASA is defending

“lousy, substandard, second rate writing.” Manning mentions that some books are challenged for

a reason, and that should not be disregarded. Manning warns that parents can no longer count on

schools and libraries to share their beliefs as they did before. Manning emphasizes that we no

longer live in a time where handing children books with depictions of drugs, sex, and violence is

unthinkable, it is a reality. Manning encourages parents to be more vigilant than ever before in

order to keep children safe, claiming that authority figures do not care about morality and

decency anymore. Manning states that it isn't censorship, it's our “fractured culture”, teaching

children that evil is good.

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Conclusion

Overall, book banning is a highly controversial subject with valid arguments on both

sides. Even though book banning is an issue that most think is left in the past, it is certainly a

prominent issue now. On the one hand, some argue that removing certain books is harmful

because it violates the first amendment and targets books involving stories of LGBTQ+ and

people of color. On the other hand, however, others argue that removing certain books is

necessary to protect children from obscene material in books. This paper discussed the book

banning issue specifically in Utah school districts and focused on the most challenged books in

Utah. Along with what those against book banning say, and what those for book banning say, in

hopes to inform you on the recent debate on whether book banning is a good idea or not.

Further Inquiry

There are not a lot of resources out there that give the opinion of students. I believe that a

study should be conducted that asks students how they feel about the topic of book banning. I

feel this is important because the children and teens in this generation are the future. It is

important to consider students when making a final decision because they are the biggest group

impacted by book banning.

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References

Ford, Nadia. (2017). Book banning. Unsuitable.

https://sites.duke.edu/unsuitable/

Groth, Jason. (April 2, 2022). Book banning is alive and well in Utah. Deseret News.

https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2022/4/2/23006780/utah-book-banning-aclu-anti-gay-ra

cism-sexism-issues-first-amendment

Ivory, K. (October 6th, 2022). It’s not discrimination — we are protecting children from

pornography. The Deseret News.

https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2022/10/6/23390043/opinion-utah-book-banning-discri

mination-pornography

Kobabe, Maia. (October 29, 2021). Schools are banning my book. But queer kids need queer

books. Washington Post.

https://redgoldsparkspress.com/projects/7241934

Manning, E. (2012). Parents must protect children from offensive materials in books.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Ai5yD6bxhaAREYIEgnB_I5ivlw2lmUM/view

Tanner, Courtney. (August 2, 2022). Utah school district pulls 52 books after concerns and

flagged another 32 for later review. The Salt Lake Tribune.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2022/08/02/52-books-pulled-utah-school/

Vonnegut, Kurt. (1979). I am very real.

https://news.lettersofnote.com/p/i-am-very-real