Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
State Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco has led a group of Republicans in the Texas House in demanding that school administrators won't do business with book vendors that supply "pornographic materials."
In a letter from last week signed by 26 other Republican lawmakers, Patterson specifically called out the book Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe as an example of porn making its way into school libraries, claiming that the young adult book "graphically illustrates child pornography."
In the graphic novel, Kobabe recounts her own struggle to understand her sexuality as a nonbinary person. Some illustrations of oral sex appear in the book, which Texas GOP leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott have held up to justify their attempts to ban books dealing with LGBTQ issues from public schools.
In a statement provided to the Texas Tribune, the Association of Texas Professional Educators correctly pointed out that pornography has a legal definition — and that definition isn't based on whether Patterson or his cronies finds something objectionable.
"ATPE urges school districts to recognize the power of the elected school board to work with parents and educators to find the right balance for their local communities and avoid getting caught up in these types of politically motivated pledges," Shannon Holmes, ATPE's executive director said in the statement.
In other words, she wisely urged districts to engage in conversations with teachers and parents rather than listen to the dictates of assclowns pandering in the runup to an election.
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