I received a flyer in the mail today from Utah Senator John Johnson, Senate District 3. He extols his political accomplishments and asked to be voted back into office again. No!!! In the flyer he did not mention his role in banning books in Utah public schools. He voted for the law, which went into effect July 1, that requires that a book be removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material” — pornographic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by Utah code, which is vague. So, if three of the most conservative school districts in Utah ban a book, the book must also be banned in the remaining 38 of 41 Utah school districts. The ‘concerned citizens’ fighting to make sure their way of life is undisturbed ‘by uncomfortable ideas’ will eventually be revealed as the villains of this story.

One group of parents shouldn’t be allowed to limit what EVERY child can check out. If you don’t like a book, opt them out. Every child should be equipped for the 21st century, and that means learning real history (not fairytales) and respecting people across our differences. It means ensuring EVERY child feels safe to learn and thrive at school. The Republican legislature doesn’t trust the parents and librarians in the individual school districts to be competent enough to determine what is harmful to THEIR children.

Senator Johnson also didn’t mention his efforts in gutting and ignoring the Better Boundaries Citizens Petition (Proposition 4) in 2018 that was passed to ensure that the Utah legislature and our US Congressional Delegation are actually representative of Utahns. The Utah Supreme Court in July 2024 unanimously ruled that, in order for the citizen’s constitutional right to pass initiatives to have meaning, the Legislature cannot simply undo the intent of voters on a whim. The Republican legislature doesn’t trust Utah voters to choose the best candidates by gerrymandering voting districts. See Amendment D.

Richard Keckler

North Ogden