Governor Kim Reynolds says if a book is banned in one school district, state law should require that all Iowa schools get a parent’s permission before letting a student see it.
Reynolds spoke last night at a town hall event organized by Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents’ rights group. “Thank you for speaking out, for your refusal to stand quietly by as we’ve seen the radical left treat our kids like their personal property. Not on your watch, not on my watch, not on our watch!” Reynolds said, to cheers.
Local members of Moms for Liberty have led efforts to remove books they consider obscene from Iowa school libraries. They also support a bill to ban materials or instruction about gender identity in kingergarten through eighth grade classrooms and another that would require parents be notified if their child asks to be known by a different name or gender at school.
“You’re fighting for the fundamental principle that parents are the primary decision makers for their children,” Reynolds said, to cheers.
Protesters who shouted and waved a transgender flag at one point during the governor’s remarks were escorted out by police. A small group of Republican legislators also spoke at the event and answered questions from the crowd.
(Reporting by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)