Ban on Sexually Explicit Material from K-12 Schools Passes Senate Committee

Ban on Sexually Explicit Material from K-12 Schools Passes Senate Committee

By Corinne Murdock |

Last week, the Senate Education Committee passed HB2495, legislation to outlaw sexually explicit materials from K-12 schools. 

State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), the sponsor, noted that the legislation’s language incorporated some of the criminal code established in the 1960s banning obscenities from being exposed willfully to children. Hoffman argued that legislators in the 1960s couldn’t have imagined the materials given to minors as young as 9 years old in today’s age, referencing lewd cartoons, books depicting teenagers engaged in sexual acts, class skits requiring students to play out intimate or sexual relationships, surveys on sexual desires and fantasies, and reference materials with titles like “Dry Humping Saves Lives,” “It’s Okay to Have Sex With A Lot of People,” “How to View Porn,” and “Play With Yourself.”

“There’s truly nothing more sacred than the innocence of a child,” said Hoffman.

Hoffman added that scientific studies show that children are more vulnerable to sexually-explicit material because they have “mirror neurons,” which enhances what they see, and causes children to develop risky sexual behavior and intimacy disorders. He had to receive Department of Child Services (DCS) approval before showing to the committee some of the sexually explicit materials available to minors in K-12 schools. 

ACLU of Arizona lobbyist Geoff Esposito argued that schools are perfectly capable of providing age-appropriate materials on their own without the interference of the legislature.

The Protect Arizona Children Coalition President Lisa Fink rebutted that inappropriate materials are, in fact, being taught in K-12 schools, citing multiple examples.

During the votes, State Senator Theresa Hatathlie (D-Coal Mine Canyon) said that while she doesn’t support pornography shown in K-12 schools, she believed that procedures existed in curriculum reviews outside the legislature. Hatathlie argued that the sexually inappropriate materials were occurring in a few schools, not many, and that perpetrators should be held accountable.

State Senator Christine Marsh (D-Phoenix) said she agreed with Hoffman’s examples of what was inappropriate, but said his legislation went too far and would create many unintended consequences. Marsh said that she doubted such inappropriate materials existed in classrooms, having never seen them herself before, but said that any teachers giving out those inappropriate materials should be punished.

State Senator Tyler Pace (R-Mesa) said he bought the contentious, allegedly sexually inappropriate books to review them for himself, and their presence at the house caused serious issues with his wife. Pace rebutted that the incidents cited weren’t as isolated as his Democratic colleagues would like to believe. 

Early last month, the House passed the bill along party lines, 31-28. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

ASU Cancels Conservative Events After Faculty Oppose Them In Survey

ASU Cancels Conservative Events After Faculty Oppose Them In Survey

By Corinne Murdock |

UPDATE: Shortly after the publication of this story, AZ Free News received word that the events in question were restored. A follow-up email submitted late Monday afternoon explained that the events were restored because, “Under the leadership of President Michael Crow, Arizona State University is committed to intellectual diversity.” 

Human nature remains constant, as evidenced by the relatability of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to Arizona State University’s (ASU) latest actions. As fond as Plato and other ancient philosophers were of challenging their own and others’ ideas and beliefs through the dialectic, so it appears ASU shares a similar fondness for avoiding such interactions. 

According to an email obtained by AZ Free News, ASU history department leadership forced the School of Philosophical and Religious Studies (SHPRS) to cancel two events funded by its Political History and Leadership (PHL) Program after asking history faculty in an unprecedented survey whether two guest speakers should be permitted to come. The two events featured speakers engaging in conservative rhetoric: Bret Weinstein, the controversial former Evergreen State College biology professor featured in a documentary by conservative radio talk show host and writer Dennis Prager on cancel culture, “No Safe Spaces,” and Katie Pavlich, a conservative commentator and University of Arizona (UArizona) alumna. 

“For the first time since the conception of SHPRS, the head of the history faculty sent out an online survey to the history faculty asking them to vote on whether or not to bring these PHL funded speakers to campus,” read the email from PHL Co-Director Donald Critchlow. 

Weinstein doesn’t consider himself a conservative; he has long considered himself a “deep progressive.” He was scheduled to speak in mid-October, while Pavlich was scheduled to speak sometime next spring. 

AZ Free News reported January 19 that ASU canceled another PHL event featuring Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and former Utah congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz. As reported at the time, ASU offered three different reasons for canceling the event to different parties. Several of the featured speakers were told that the event had to be canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. However, others were informed that the event was canceled due to controversy over Biggs and Chaffetz being guest speakers.

The final reason given to AZ Free News for the event cancellation came from ASU. University spokesman Jerry Gonzalez told AZ Free News that a faculty member broke ASU’s scheduling protocol.

“The event at the Desert Botanical Garden was canceled due to a breach of scheduling protocol by a faculty member in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies,” said Gonzalez. “The university welcomes the opportunity for this event to be rescheduled following the required protocols.”

About a week later on January 25, after the report by AZ Free News was shared on a national level, the email revealed that ASU’s history department implemented new, unspecified procedures for requesting guest speakers to come on campus. It was after PHL followed the new procedures that the head of the history faculty, Catherine O’Donnell, sent out the survey about the two speakers. After receiving the survey results, O’Donnell recommended SHPRS Director Richard Amesbury cancel both events featuring Weinstein and Pavlich. In turn, Amesbury directed PHL to cancel the two speakers.

Included in the closing portion of the email was a quote from ASU’s Statement of Freedom of Expression:

“Without a vibrant commitment to free and open inquiry, a university ceases to be a university,” read the statement. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

ASU American Government Class Teaches Voter ID is Voter Suppression

ASU American Government Class Teaches Voter ID is Voter Suppression

By Corinne Murdock |

An Arizona State University (ASU) American government class taught that requiring an ID to vote was a voter suppression tactic. The professor drew this conclusion in a lecture slide titled, “Gates to African American Suffrage.” The professor also claimed that current methods of voter suppression included getting rid of the state’s Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL), restricting PEVL access, getting rid of mail-in voting, and closed primaries. 

The Twitter account @libsoftiktok first reported on the lecture.

According to the ASU course catalog, there are two different ASU “government” classes: POS 110, American Government & Politics, and POS 310, American National Government. Five different professors teach the first class: Gina Woodall, David Wells, George Watson, Scott Spehr, and Keith Hollinger. The latter class has three different professors: Watson, Mark Simpson, and Jesse Chanley.

House and Senate Republicans this session have focused on strengthening voter ID as part of their election integrity bills. 

One bill that passed the Arizona legislature and was received by the secretary of state earlier this month for final approval by the governor, HCR2025/SCR1012, the “Arizonans for Voter ID Act,” will require voters to sign an affidavit with their ballot, including their birth date and any of the following early voter ID proofs: driver’s license number, nonoperating Id number, last four digits of Social Security number, or unique identifying number.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Congressman Biggs Investigating Biden Administration’s Media Drone Ban From Border

Congressman Biggs Investigating Biden Administration’s Media Drone Ban From Border

By Corinne Murdock |

Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and the rest of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are probing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision last fall to ban media outlets’ drones from flying over the southern border.

On Monday, the committee announced that its ranking member, Congressman James Comer (R-KY-01), sent a response letter to FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. According to their press release, “heavily redacted documents” provided by the FAA in response to an initial committee letter revealed that an FAA headquarters manager believed that banning drones would be illegal initially. However, an “unknown U.S. Customs and Border Protection official” called the manager and convinced that person to change their mind.

“The FAA’s decision to abruptly reverse course on the legality of banning media drones raises questions about potential political interference at the agency to hide President Biden’s border crisis from the public,” read the letter. “That telephonic or other assistance apparently changed FAA’s opinion on the legality of issuing a TFR. Ultimately, the TFR was issued later that evening, raising concerns about its legality and FAA’s rationale for changing its position. These emails call into question FAA’s conduct, particularly where a TFR may have been issued improperly and for the purpose of disrupting media attention related to the border crisis. The American people have a right to transparency when it comes to President Biden’s failed border and interior enforcement policies.”

The FAA first announced its ban in mid-September of last year. At the time, media outlets were informed that the ban was a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) of two weeks. It’s now been a little over six months. 

However, the FAA reversed course again after some resistance from the media. Fox News received clearance to fly its drones the next day. In a later tweet, the FAA encouraged other outlets to apply for clearance. An FAA spokesperson later told Fox News that Border Patrol requested a temporary flight restriction because drones were interfering with those flights made by law enforcement.

The ban occurred after media outlets filmed the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the Del Rio, Texas area of the border, especially focusing on those huddled under a bridge. 

The committee requested more documents from the FAA pertaining to all documents and communications referring or relating to the day of the TFR, unredacted copies of the emails given to the committee, documents and communications from Biden’s inauguration to present regarding the legality of issuing the TFR, and an explanation of the legal basis relied on by the FAA to issue the TFR.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Resolution Establishing Arizona’s First Lieutenant Governor Passes House Committee 

Resolution Establishing Arizona’s First Lieutenant Governor Passes House Committee 

By Corinne Murdock |

A Senate resolution to appoint Arizona’s first lieutenant governor passed the House Government and Elections Committee with bipartisan support on Wednesday, 10-3. The three to vote against the resolution were Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) and State Representatives Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley) and Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson). 

The resolution, SCR1024, proposed that each gubernatorial nominee would name a lieutenant governor to run on the ticket with them at least 60 days before the general election, serving as a joint candidate. If the lieutenant governor couldn’t serve in the position any longer, then the governor would appoint another individual with majority approval of the state legislature. If brought before and approved by voters this November, the constitutional amendment would go in effect in 2027.

Bolding wanted to raise the total votes needed to approve a replacement lieutenant governor to 60 percent versus a simple majority. The resolution sponsor, State Representative J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) responded that the state constitution determines the number of state legislature votes needed to approve an appointment. In final remarks on voting against the resolution, Bolding added that he couldn’t support the resolution because he didn’t believe voters would know what they were voting on if the resolution came before them on the ballot.

Arizona is one of five states without a lieutenant governor: Oregon, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Maine. If Governor Doug Ducey were unable to fulfill his duties, then Secretary of State Katie Hobbs would be next in line to take over. Hobbs is running for governor this year, contending against fellow Democrats Marco Lopez and Aaron Lieberman, and may face off against Republicans Steve Gaynor, Kari Lake, Karrin Taylor Robson, Matt Salmon, or Scott Neely. The primary election will take place on August 2.

After the secretary of state, the succession for governor would fall on the attorney general, then state treasurer, and finally the superintendent of public instruction.

SCR1024 went hand-in-hand with SB1255, which passed out of the same committee with even more support, 12-1. That time, only Burges voted against the bill. SB1255 would award the lieutenant governor directorship over the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA), allowing the individual to fill any positions not under the governor’s purview to appoint. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.