The members of Huntington Beach's City Council are collectively dim. They also want to run the library.

Why? Because power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Plus—MAGA!

Mayor Pat Burns knows what’s best for you. And your children.

By Lauren Allen/The Truth OC Guest Contributor

Spring has arrived. The birds are singing. The Easter Bunny just hopped into town.

But did you know there is (gasp!) porn in the library?

If one of those things sounds unbelievable, you’re right. And it's not the Easter Bunny.

On Saturday, Huntington Beach held its annual Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt, a typically nonpartisan event centered around community. On the list of vendors for this family fun day was the “Campaign Against Measure A and B,” featuring Pat Burns, the mayor of Huntington Beach, behind the table talking to residents. The Campaign folks were there to warn the community about books in the public library that they consider to be pornographic. They exclaimed that these books were kept at (double gasp!) floor level, where any kid could just crawl up and find them.

The books in question concern puberty and sexual health. They’ve been at the center of a heated debate about library content in Huntington Beach for the past few years. Despite the Campaign claims, these books aren’t sitting on low shelves or next to the board books for toddlers.

No, they’re shelved in the age appropriate section for the target audiences (older kids who might have questions about these topics). That, however, hasn’t stopped the Republican-controlled Huntington Beach City Council from trying to move them around.

In an effort to circumvent the Freedom to Read Act, which was passed in California last year and prevents book bans, the Huntington Beach City Council recently ordered that a handful of books on this topic be moved to a restricted area in the adult section on an entirely different floor. Hence, these books now sit alone on the very top shelf, so high up that if a kid mustered up the courage to go find a book to learn more about puberty, they would likely need to ask an adult to reach it for them.

Oh, and there’s caution tape.

Actual caution tape in the library.

Literal caution tape inside the library.

Given the library policy insisting children age 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult, it seems pretty clear toddlers can’t actually retrieve these books. But there, in the flesh, was Pat Burns, standing behind a booth at the Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt. And he was part of a group that was waving around flyers featuring the precise illustrations they are so concerned about.

Here, take a look …

Reps of “Campaign Against Measure A and B” are so against porn … they distributed it at an Easter event.

So why is the mayor of Huntington Beach spending his Saturday at an Easter celebration warning residents about public libraries? Well, if you haven’t heard, Huntington Beach is holding a June 10 special election that focuses entirely on the public library and two decisions made by the City Council that have stalled due to public pushback.

Measure A seeks to repeal a planned children’s book review board of up to 21 members, appointed by the City Council, whose duties would include reviewing and having final approval of children’s library books brought into circulation. The yet-to-be-formed board was also the subject of a recent lawsuit filed against the city by a group including two teenagers and a former Huntington Beach children’s librarian.

Measure B would require voter approval for any future efforts to outsource operations of the public library—a topic that has already come up at previous City Council meetings.

This election will take place because residents who support the public library came together to gather enough signatures to bring these issues to a public vote, and hopefully put it to rest. In other words, they’re fed up.

As am I.

The idea that our libraries are suddenly full of inappropriate content is a well-crafted lie that has swept the nation in the last few years. Groups like “Campaign Against Measure A and B” found the right trigger words to alarm parents and rally them for a cause that isn’t actually about protecting children. It’s about exerting control over the types of information and stories the public can find at the library.

I repeat: It’s entirely about control.

Pat Burns: Mayor, Rick Astley Fan Club President and the man who hates porn so much he handed it out at an Easter event.

So let’s be clear. There is no porn in the Huntington Beach Library, just nonfiction books on sexual health for those who may want to read them. If you don’t want you or your children exposed to such material, that’s totally fine. You don’t have to. The public library is a public resource paid for by its citizens. It should reflect the needs of all residents.

Not to mention, isn’t this argument about the dangers of books a good 50 years late? Why, in a world where most children have a smart phone with the entire internet at their fingertips, are we so concerned about a book they might stumble upon? Where is the outrage for that? Do we really think that googling health questions like how to properly insert a tampon instead of reading about it in a professionally reviewed book will yield more age appropriate results?

This battle isn’t new, but it goes to show that even in a state where book bans are prohibited, censorship has still found its way into our backyard. With residents receiving their ballots by mid-May, all eyes are on Huntington Beach to see if it can keep these censorship attempts at bay and show the rest of Orange County that we stand with our public libraries.

Lauren Allen is the co-founder of Once Upon a Ban, a newsletter that shines a light on attempts to censor children’s picture books around the country. Part journalism, part book club, Once Upon a Ban reads banned books and talks to activists and authors about their work protecting the freedom to read.