Lawmaker says Bible ban didn’t follow the law he helped create
Jun 7, 2023, 9:30 PM
An open bible showing different passages from the scriptures. A Utah lawmaker says a Bible ban in some schools in Davis School District didn't follow the law he helped create. Photo credit: Getty Images
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker behind a bill that led to the Bible being pulled off the shelves in certain schools in Davis School District, says that’s not what the law was intended to do.
Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, told KSL NewsRadio that the bill was generally focused on graphically sexual and violent content.
“It’s not about the gender of illicit sexual acts that are depicted,” he said. “(And) it’s not about the sexual preference of illicit sexual acts that are depicted. It’s the fact that they are illicit graphic, sexual acts, period.”
Ivory was also asked about some of the more violent themes in the Bible.
“There are violent and graphic and vulgar things that happen in history,” he said. “And they’re described in histories as history. They’re written of the good and bad in history that we learn the life lessons from them.”
Ivory says this is about following the law.
“They made this determination, without following state law,” he said. “They made the determination without following their own policy. And then announce this determination to the world.”
He says the Bible has relevance in education. And that is why the violent themes are Ok.
“So, if we’re going to say that there are violent and vulgar things in history, then we’ll have no history in schools,” he said.
Mark Jones contributed to this article.
Read more:
- Opinion: Would we need to ban books in school if parents just parented?
- Should the Bible be banned from school libraries?
