Sarah Smith from the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance and Juan Garcia from Coalition of Conservatives in Action filed a complaint with Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) requesting the removal of the book "Jack of Hearts and Other Parts" from the Mayfield High School library, citing concerns about its age appropriateness.
A formal hearing was held on Oct. 12 to decide whether the contested book should be removed. The committee – comprised of four teachers and three parents – chose to keep the book in the library in a 6-to-1 vote.
The final decision on whether to keep “Jack of Hearts and Other Parts” is in the hands of the LCPS superintendent, Ignacio Ruiz.
“I really have no idea how it will turn out,” Smith said. “The Superintendent is new to the district. He seems to be a genuinely good person, so I hope he will make the right decision to protect students from this inappropriate content. There is an appeal process if the Superintendent does not rule in our favor.”
Smith said she does not know why the committee voted the way that they did and that the format of the review hearing was such that none of the committee members had a chance to discuss the book with each other or give any of their reasoning.
“I do think it is interesting that a member of the progressive activist organization Progress Now NM (Lucas Herndon) was one of the parents chosen to be on the book review committee,” she said.
According to the complaint, which is believed to be the first formal complaint of its kind filed in New Mexico, "Jack of Hearts and Other Parts" contains graphic descriptions of pedophilia, kids drinking alcohol and other inappropriate content.
In the book, Jack, the protagonist, is a 17-year-old sex columnist who goes into detail about numerous sexual exploits with many different men. Smith said that some of the age-inappropriate content in the book includes a descriptive passage about bondage sex between an underage student and an adult where Jack is "dominated" and "[used] as a sex toy," plus numerous passages that encourage promiscuity and how to be a “big slut." The book also describes teens using alcohol and drugs “just to relax with” as a way to make “things seem easier,” and much more, according to Smith.
“I have [shown] the content of this book to dozens of parents, and nearly all of them have objected to this content being in a public school,” she said.
Garcia and Smith believe that exposing children to this content violates both state and federal laws.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity is not protected under First Amendment rights to free speech,” Smith said. “Having this book in a school violates Federal statutes about what is appropriate for minors.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, federal statutes specifically prohibit obscenity from being provided to children, and Smith argues that having this book in a school library violates New Mexico statute 30-37-3, which prohibits providing to minors any book containing: “explicitly and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse.”
People who are interested in this issue of inappropriate books in school can stay up-to-date through Smith’s Facebook page or through the following advocacy groups: Free People of the Southwest or the Coalition of Conservatives in Action. All of the explicit content from “Jack of Hearts and Other Parts” can be found here.