| Dear Las Crucens, You may have heard that the Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) book review committee voted last week to keep the age-inappropriate book in the Mayfield High School library. You can see the content of this book here: nmfa.us/jackPer the district policy, the next step is for the LCPS Superintendent to make a final decision based on the committee’s recommendation. We want to make sure that Superintendent Ruiz hears both sides of the issue. Will you please give 5 minutes to email or call Superintendent Ruiz now? His contact info and potential talking points are below.It is possible that Superintendent Ruiz could announce his decision as early as next week, although per the district policy, he could potentially take until mid-November to announce his decision. |
| Please Email/Call Superintendent Ignacio RuizEmail: [email protected]Phone: 575-527-5809 |
| Potential Talking Points Feel free to use some of the text below in your email.Your email will be most effective if you customize the text below instead of just pasting it verbatim into your email. Please be respectful and use your own authentic voice for more impact.NOTE 1: It would be counterproductive to express anti-gay or anti-trans sentiments to the Superintendent. We are strategically focusing on the overall sexual content as being inappropriate, regardless of whether it is straight or gay.NOTE 2: Likewise, it would generally be counterproductive to be quoting the Bible, referring to your religion, or mentioning communism or Marxism in your comments.The Jack of Hearts and Other Parts books is not age-appropriate for inclusion in a school.This book contains pedophilia including bondage sex between an overage adult and a teenager as well as a school coach having sex with a student in the locker room. These are illegal activities and should not be promoted in a book in a school.This book encourages promiscuity in teens, even though they do not have the brain development at that age to properly weigh the risks. Indiscriminate sex with multiple partners increases risks of contracting sexually transmitted infections (such as HIV and HPV) and spreading infection to others.Detailed blowjob tips are not age appropriate for 14 year old children (whether gay or straight) and neither is the language in this book. A PG-13 movie only allows the usage of one F word in a movie, yet this book has dozens and dozens of F words.It is NOT book banning to assess a book in a school for age appropriateness. That type of assessment needs to happen with all books in schools and is the duty of the school district.My [child/grandchildren/etc] attends public school in Las Cruces. Please ensure that the materials in schools are age-appropriate. The Jack of Hearts and Other Parts book is not appropriate for a school library due to the explicit sexual content and promotion of illegal acts (such as pedophilia, underage drinking and drugs, and child pornography). I will potentially be pulling my [child/grandchild] out of school if this type of material is allowed to remain the Las Cruces schools.The Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity is not protected under First Amendment rights to free speech.Having this book in a school violates Federal statutes about what is appropriate for minors. According to the US Department of Justice, Federal statutes specifically prohibit obscenity from being provided to children. “Harmful materials for minors include any communication consisting of nudity, sex or excretion that (i) appeals to the prurient [sexual] interest of minors, (ii) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable material for minors, (iii) and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”Having this book in a school library violates New Mexico statute 30-37-2, which prohibits providing to minors any book containing: “explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct or sado-masochistic abuse.”This book is encouraging teens to abuse drugs and alcohol, even to the point of blacking out and not remembering whether they had sex the night before. This is inappropriate for high schoolers.This book encourages teens to take nude photos of themselves to send to people. This is not okay and is illegal!Please do your duty and ensure that the materials in our schools are age appropriate for students. |
| Thanks in advance for you help!Standing with you in solidarity,Sarah SmithFree People of the Southwest (local action)New Mexico Freedoms Alliance (statewide action) |
