Obscenity amendment draws fire at forum
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:24 p.m., March 17, 2008
Updated 01:24 p.m., March 17, 2008
Photo by Joey Berlin
Sen. Jim Barnett addresses the crowd at Eggs & Issues on Saturday morning at Flint Hills Technical College after Reps. Peggy Mast and Don Hill had already given their opening remarks.
A Kansas Senate bill that would remove teacher exemptions from obscenity laws was one of the most discussed topics at the latest edition of Eggs & Issues on Saturday morning at Flint Hills Technical College.
As Emporia’s three state legislators answered questions from the audience, several attendees voiced objection to an amendment in Senate Bill 492, which has already passed the Senate and was the subject of a hearing in the House last week.
The bill’s original focus was to allow a person convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence to obtain a teacher’s license, which is currently not allowed in Kansas. But the controversial amendment, introduced by Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, states that teachers “shall not read, use or display any material for which an affirmative defense to prosecution may be asserted” for obscenity, unless the teacher’s material has been approved by the school district’s board of education. The new section of the bill also holds the principal of the school accountable for allowing the teacher to use the unapproved material.
Doctors and teachers, one attendee noted, have an exemption from the state’s obscenity laws because of the requirements of their job, such as a doctor’s need to discuss the reproductive system with patients or a teacher’s requirements for sex education.
“Now, that may seem like, ‘Oh, (if) the school board approves,’” the audience member said to Sen. Jim Barnett, a medical doctor. “But that is for every word you say. You guys (doctors) are exempted still. Teachers are not.
“... So what this does is put a fig leaf completely over reproductive biology education in the state, totally.”
After other audience members also objected to the amendment, Barnett, who voted for the amended bill in a 31-9 Senate approval, made reference to what he felt had been an inadequate debate on the amendment in the Senate.
“I think (this is) one of the risks of passing legislation on the floor without the opportunity to ... let both sides have their chance to let legislators understand the pros and cons, and the results, the consequences,” Barnett said. “So I will very much keep in mind your comments.”
Rep. Don Hill then joked to Barnett, “Maybe this is something that the House can backstop you on, clean up some of your work.”
Hill said last week’s House hearing on Bill 492 featured good information from both sides of the issue and sincere concern from Brownlee. Hill made it clear he wasn’t in support of the amendment, saying the bill had implications beyond just what teachers are doing in their classes. For example, Hill said, because the amendment says the principal cannot allow unapproved obscene material “in a school,” the law would extend to instances when the school is used for community activities.
“Under this law, the amendment, one person could complain, and the district attorney could bring charges against that principal for something that happened in this meeting that they had in the building,” Hill said.
“The bill will be worked, and I have some comfort level that that provision will be taken out, and put the bill back to its original form before it leaves the committee and gets to the full House.”
Barnett said after the Eggs & Issues forum that if he could vote on the amended Bill 492 again, he would reconsider his vote.
“The concerns that were raised today were not what I would say adequately raised during the debate on the Senate floor,” he said.
Immigration was also part of an extended discussion during the forum. Barnett is a cosponsor of Senate Bill 458, which would require Kansas employers to make sure employees and prospective employees are legally in this country using the government’s E-Verify system.
“I don’t view those coming to this country as a primary problem,” Barnett said. “I view the elected officials in this country as a primary problem. Because they have not dealt with this issue — they have failed repeatedly, particularly at the national level, to create sensible immigration laws that allow someone to come to this country legally and provide that workforce that we know we need.”
Rep. Peggy Mast said that in a recent survey she conducted, around 90 percent of respondents answered yes to her question of whether immigration laws needed to be tightened. Mast said that her survey had about 900 responses to that question.
“It was the one that had the most answers ...” she said. “And I remember what my title is: It’s ‘representative.’ And it’s been encouraging to me to know that I have been voting with the majority of my constituency.”
Hill said he recently told a constituent that the Legislature couldn’t do anything about illegal immigration for two reasons.
“One of which is, in my belief, this is a federal issue,” he said. “Number two, when you start going beyond that to look at legitimate concerns and problems, then the solutions to those problems become about as numerous as the people you talk to. I mean, we’re all over the lot.”
Hill said the borders need to be secured, a responsible guest worker program needs to be devised, and those already here need to be given a path to citizenship.
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