Aaron DiPietro, legislative affairs director for Florida Family Voice (FFV), says a measure designed to keep pornographic content out of public school libraries has advanced through the Florida House and is one step closer to becoming law.
"We were really excited … to work on House Bill 1539, which is dealing with a blatant loophole in state statute dealing with obscene materials and pornographic materials in public schools," he details.
FFV has been working with the House sponsor, Republican Rep. Doug Bankson, to "make sure that our children are protected."
The measure regarding "Materials Harmful to Minors" revises the list of materials used in elementary and even high school classrooms that are subject to the objection process by parents or residents.
This session, Senate President Ben Albritton (R) and Rules Chair Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (D) did not schedule the bill for a Senate vote, preventing it from becoming law, but DiPietro is celebrating the incredible ground gains that were made.
"This is an issue that I think a lot of people, even a lot of allies, were unsure about," he says. "They thought that we had addressed this issue in prior legislative rounds."
Then "pretty much everybody" who saw the evidence of the blatantly obscene and pornographic content available to kids in their own schools under the pretense of "literary value" wanted it out.
DiPietro, who thinks they have the momentum to move forward into the next session, advises people to realize legislative attention is not a fix-all that closes all loopholes and addresses every potential issue.
"That's not the nature of how many of these things work," he says. "We have to be constantly vigilant in protecting our children."
As Florida conservatives continue meeting with legislators and working with bill sponsors to ensure HB 1539 crosses the finish line next session, FFV remains on the front lines to close loopholes and safeguard children from obscene content.
