Mailbag: Who will define ‘sex’ at the library? and other questions

I was deeply disappointed to learn that the Huntington Beach City Council on Oct. 17 voted for a dangerous resolution, spearheaded by Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, that would create a review board to inspect children’s books for sexual content (a term they have not yet defined). The members of this review group will not be trained librarians; they will be the City Council’s political appointees. Since the resolution was extremely vague, it’s hard to comprehend how this will work, let alone whether it’s legal. One of their most baffling requirements is that the library will not be able to allow access to “any content of a sexual nature” for anyone under 18 years of age without consent of a parent or guardian, regardless of “whether the books or materials are intended for children or adults.” So, a 17-year-old, who’s heading to college in a year, has a car and a smartphone, and holds down a job can’t check out “The Great Gatsby” or “Romeo and Juliet” without Mommy’s or Daddy’s approval? What gives our City Council the right to determine what constitutes sexual content in library books? Will they ban kissing or hugging? How about a book involving reproductive health? Or popular teen series like the Hunger Games trilogy or the Twilight Saga? Or books on gender identity and sexual orientation? The Bible? This is a political stunt on the part of Huntington Beach’s majority conservative council. They can’t stop stoking the culture war and as they do that, they continue to divide our community.

Carol Daus
Huntington Beach

Sitting in the Huntington Beach City Council chamber audience for over seven hours at the Oct. 17 meeting, I noticed that the dais seemed like the movie set for a thriller or horrific drama whereby the mad scientist or rogue general fends off all attempts to save the day and hurtles toward imminent destruction for all concerned. Wave after wave of protests, most well-reasoned and on-point, washed up on the dais where the villainous mayor, Tony Strickland, and his council majority cronies held sway. This time, the city was not rescued. Deeply flawed and ill-conceived measures regarding library services, the handling of our local elections (featuring the insistence on voter ID), the restrictive display of certain flags on city property, and other issues were approved on a 4-3 vote despite compelling evidence and arguments to the contrary. Surf City may be doomed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and risk numerous lawsuits on the autocratic vanity of members bent on wielding power rather than sound governance. It was both sad and infuriating. Yes, the irresponsible charter measures might be voted down next year, but enormous damage will already have been done. And worse, the remorseless culprits will remain free and unfettered to strike again. Huntington Beach is now suffering the consequences of its grievance-driven lurch to the right in the 2022 local election. It’s hard to see how this movie has a happy ending.

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach

Gracie Van der Mark’s plans to restrict access to library books she deems offensive is nothing more than an attempt to hijack the library’s book collection for her own political agenda. If she and her fellow council members truly believed the majority of residents wanted this, they would have allowed the residents to vote on it. Van der Mark has used the standard fear tactic in making parents believe the library is not safe and is filled with dangerous books. One of the books she highlighted is “It’s Perfectly Normal,” which has been in the library children’s book collection for 29 years. Somehow none of the children who visited the library during that time seems to have grown up being harmed by this book. Van der Mark claims to be protecting the children, but what she is really doing is turning teens away from using the library. All books with sexual content will be moved to the adult collection. This term is very broad and vague. Anyone under the age of 18 will no longer be able to enter the adult book stacks without parent consent. The majority of high school students are under the age of 18. Most books they need for school reports and reading materials are in the adult section. The library is a beautiful open concept building designed to welcome the public in, not to keep them out. Just how does the council majority plan to keep teens from accessing the adult book stacks? Build a wall around them?

The council majority said it wanted to stop government overreach and stress personal choice by voting to ban mask and vaccine mandates. Van der Mark has said “just about every book you touch is controlled by the government.” Yet somehow it is not considered government overreach when the City Council votes to revoke librarians’ ability to order books, nor when they vote to form a committee to decide for all library users what is and is not safe for children and teens. So much for choice and letting parents choose for themselves. Oh, the irony.

Barbara Richardson
Huntington Beach

I have an idea for the City Council of Huntington Beach: How about coming up with some positive legislation that will enhance the city rather than looking around for things to ban or criticize? And by the way, the council could be a bit more original as they are far from being the first agency, be it a city council or school board, to vet reading material for the children’s library.

Let’s see: The council also banned masks and COVID-19 vaccine mandates just a few years ago. They joined the Newport Beach City Council during the height of the pandemic in trying to prevent Gov. Newsom from closing beaches to protect people from spreading the coronavirus. They also, more recently, banned the state from enforcing state law SB94 and ADUs in an effort to deal with adequate housing.

Not too long ago the Huntington Beach City Council decided there would be no rainbow Pride flags flying at City Hall, and most recently the council has been trying to imply, through changes to the human rights declaration, that schools are not adequately observing “parental rights” because they are not notifying them about their child’s perceived gender at school.

The censorship of books for children also falls under this category of “parental rights,” which I prefer to call “parental responsibilities.” As a public school teacher for 37 years, I am mystified that parents would have any more expectations for their children’s teachers. The duties of teachers are already burdensome without adding these controversial tasks to their list of responsibilities. Do parents realize how many quality teachers are leaving the classroom because of unrealistic demands on their time?

If you live in Huntington Beach, why not encourage your civic leaders to look for positive goals for the city? Huntington Beach is a popular tourist spot and well liked by its citizens as well as by tourists. The council should stop following the “madding crowd” and start seeking positive goals for its scenic city.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

Ode against Planned Parenthood

I believe Planned Parenthood is the most prolific child killing machine in American history (Planned Parenthood president and CEO Jon Dunn celebrates 30 years as the nonprofit’s leader, Daily Pilot & TimesOC, Oct. 15). Referring to abortion as healthcare is the ultimate lie. Just ask the child. Every abortion kills a living child:

Many Tears Ago
Two people entered a Planned Parenthood door,
Devastation to the core.
One forever damaged, one forever dead,
Writing on the wall needs to be read.
On her mother a child’s hopes were pinned,
Yet mom has cast her fate to the wind.
Abortion is truly not about choice,
It is all about a tiny voice.
Protecting this eternal creation,
The only hope for a fallen nation.
Never knew there was a heart that beat,
Should have looked at tiny hands and feet.
I wonder if she knew her life was for sale,
And understood the ultimate betrayal.
I wish I could say it wasn’t so,
But that was many tears ago.

Terry McDermott
Rancho Santa Margarita

24 hours to leave Laguna

Saturday was a typical fall day. I paid a few bills, shopped for groceries and watched college football. It also was the day a million residents of Gaza were expected to evacuate the north and move south by any means possible. If the same order to evacuate ever was issued in Laguna, I’m guessing there would be complete and total panic in town.

Imagine food, water and electricity being cut off for days before receiving the news: You have 24 hours to pack up and leave. Because Crown Valley has been reduced to rubble — as has coast highway in both directions — the only way to escape is via Laguna Canyon Road.

Here’s where it gets tricky. First, much of the canyon road is impassable due to bombing, so the only way to evacuate is by foot; and second, if you do manage to reach Irvine or Lake Forest, for example, both cities turn you away. What would you do? Where would you go? Will there be food and water somewhere else? Will you be safe?

I imagine these are the same questions a million mothers, fathers, sons, daughters and grandparents are asking themselves in Gaza now.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe Israel’s hunt for the Hamas killers hiding in Gaza is totally justified. After all, these cowards killed innocent babies and anyone else they could find. What concerns me is the humanitarian crisis the evacuation currently is causing and will continue to cause long after the fighting ends. As one young physician put it, “We are living in a cage, and there isn’t a way out.” If this isn’t a nightmare scenario, then I don’t know what is.

Yes, fall is a time for change. I just never thought it would be this kind of change.

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach