Utahns throw a book-banning party and call on authors of banned books to ‘repent’

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Utah recently banned 13 books statewide, a group of Utah residents and religious and political leaders recently gathered at the state’s Capitol to celebrate the bans while calling for the authors of the banned books to “repent.”

Utah has earned comparisons to Fahrenheit 451 after passing some of the nation’s worst book-banning legislation. Recently, the state passed House Bill 29, giving school boards the right to enact statewide book bans under certain conditions. Although the state boasts over 40 school districts and 100 charter schools, the bill stipulates that complaints from just three school districts, or two school districts and five charter schools, are all that is needed to potentially ban the book in every single school statewide. If the minimum number of school districts and charter schools find a book amounts to “objective sensitive material” and the Utah State Board of Education doesn’t intervene, the book can be permanently banned for the over 675,000 students in the state.

During a discussion of the bill, Utah’s school board had fought to add a stipulation to HB 29 that would have forced teachers to burn the banned books. So far, 13 books have been banned statewide, most of which deal with topics like abuse, sexuality, addiction, and reproduction from a woman’s perspective. While many view what is happening in Utah as horrific and dystopian, conservative Utah residents are celebrating taking away books from students, including girls who need access to these books to understand and be aware of their rights.

Utah residents and leaders celebrate dystopian laws

The Salt Lake Tribune recently covered a strange gathering held at the Utah Capitol on August 29 to celebrate the banning of 13 books statewide. Religious leaders like Chuck Beickel and politicians like Rep. Ken Ivory, Congressman Burgess Owens, and Utah State Board of Education member Jennie Earl were in attendance at the celebration. Numerous conservative and Christian parents and members of Utah Parents United were also present.

It seems the celebration was held to combat media coverage that described the statewide bans as a “dark day” for the state. As a result, it was filled with book-banning propaganda and desperate attempts to demonize authors for their artistic expression. Twelve large poster boards were constructed for the gathering, which displayed excerpts of sexual scenes with no context from books that were banned, as well as from books that the state is currently pushing to ban. During one of the strangest moments of the night, Beickel stood in front of the poster boards while preaching about the need for the authors of the banned books to “repent.” He stated:

These authors will bow their knees before the King of kings and Lord of lords, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I hope they will repent of what they’ve done and receive Jesus Christ as their savior.

According to Beickel, writing a book for children is a sin so horrific that authors have to repent for “what they’ve done.” Ivory also chimed in, claiming that banning books statewide is a “bright day” for Utah. He also falsely accused authors of writing “criminally indecent and pornographic materials.” The outlandish takes on books and HB 29 didn’t end there, as books were continually labeled “smut,” “written pornography,” and “Marxist ideology.” It’s unclear if Owens even knew what Marxist ideology was or simply wanted to raise hysteria by stating, “What’s seen here in these books is Marxist ideology that hates everything we stand for.”

The demonization of authors also continued strong, as resident Darby Holmes claimed that authors and those allowing children to read books have “malicious intent” and that HB 29 protects “children from other adults.” Resident Julia Lee claimed the books would set children up for “a life of pornography, sex work, abuse, addiction, abortion, and finally, despair.”

The level of hysteria expressed at the meeting is quite concerning. It raises concerns that the book-banning movie is becoming a mass hysteria event reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials and Satanic Panic of the 1980s. Dozens of Utahns gathered to levy completely outlandish and false accusations at authors in an attempt to demonize them. These residents have convinced themselves that books that have been around and beloved for decades are somehow some conspiracy to expose children to pornography and destroy their lives. It’s very concerning that people who are so hysterical that they believe authors and librarians are “criminals” and “sinners” with “malicious intent” are also passing state laws pertaining to this subject.

As eerie and concerning as the celebration and the attendees’ statements may be, they may help raise further awareness that book banning is nothing more than profoundly misguided rhetoric and mass hysteria.