Are you a part of the News/Talk 750 WSB VIP? Sign in or join now. Why join?
Find a problem with our new site? Tell us!
Text size: A A A
(WSB Radio) A consultant appointed by the Gwinnett County School Board will send the board a recommendation on a mother's appeal of a decision to keep Harry Potter books on library shelves.

WSB's Veronica Waters reports Laura Mallory wants the Harry Potter book series banned from school libraries because she believes the books are too dark and are anti-Christian. She contends they encourage children to learn more about witchcraft.

"The Harry Potter books teach children socially unacceptable values opposing traditional values and good morals," Mallory said at Thursday's hearing. "Defying authority, lying, cheating and stealing are rewarded instead of punished."

About 100 people attended the hearing, packing the hearing room itself and sending at least a couple dozen others to an overflow room down the hall which had the audio of the 18 people testifying piped into it. Eleven of those speaking were against a ban.

Mallory first objected to the presence of the books at Magill Elementary in September, but review panels from the school and the district decided to keep the books on the shelves.

Mallory urged the hearing officer to consider her request carefully, pointing out that Wicca or witchcraft is a legally-recognized religion.

"If we tried to force people to read the Bible in schools from cover to cover, there would be an outrage," she said.

Teenager Jordan Fuchs says she became fascinated with witchcraft by reading Harry Potter books at school. Fuchs says she and her friends started to learn more about witchcraft and tried to do spells and hexes the way Harry Potter and other characters did, even conducting a séance in a PE class. By seventh grade, Fuchs says, she was suicidal.

"I became an angry, bitter, depressed and manipulating person," Fuchs testified. "I felt that I could not escape the dark clutches of witchcraft."

Fuchs urged the ban of the books to "prevent another child from going through the trauma that me and my family have endured."

Laura Outler Bowen, a mother of three, objects to the censorship of the Potter series and finds the books "imaginative and funny." She disputes Mallory's contention that the books teach children witchcraft.

"A child who is unable to recognize the difference between fantasy and reality is either too young or immature to read these books, or has issues bigger than removing the Harry Potter books is going to solve," Bowen says.

Other parents testified while they respect any parent's right to keep their own children from reading certain volumes, they take exception to someone trying to control what other people's children read. Elizabeth Friese says her family attends a Christian church weekly and she describes herself as having conservative values. Yet her second-grader, she says, only got excited about reading after finding the Potter books, which she says are about the "universal themes of life and school, friendship, and the triumph of good" in a context which is nothing more than fantasy.

"I respect the right of every parent to decide what their child should and should not be exposed to, but as for my children, I hope that these books will be waiting for them on the shelves of their school library," Friese said.

Jessica Grimes, a 10-year-old Harry Potter fan, told those at the hearing that she started reading the books in third grade and says they are clearly fiction and fantasy.

"The books have never at anytime turned me into a witch or a wizard," Grimes testified. "I go to church every Sunday, go to Sunday School, and never at any time think that the books are true."

The hearing officer will send the board her recommendation and Thursday's transcripts within five days; the board's next meeting is May 11. Its decision could be appealed to the state school board.

Thursday, 20 April 2006

WSB 24 Hour Weather Center
Fair tonight. Lows: 53 subs 60 city. Thursday, sunny and warm. High: 83 | Get the 5-day Forecast

Atlanta weather

A Few Clouds
70°F
5-day forecast | Hurricane Guide

advertisement

Marketplace

Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network
Your online connection to Larry Munson and the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network team!
Celebrate Mohawk Month
Win FREE flooring! Up to 40% off during the month of October. Details
Providing simple natural gas rate plans and great outstanding service. Get Comfortable.
Piedmont Heart Institute
Click here to take the HeartAware Risk Evaluation now.
Encore Azalea Online Seminar
“Planting Trees, Shrubs & Perennials: Right Plants in the Right Place” a Walter Reeves webinar. Watch Now
advertisement
Mercedes-Benz - Atlanta Arts Update
The “Atlanta Arts Update”, your complete calendar of Arts events in and around Atlanta. Details
Medsfile
Build and control your own online personal heath record. Details
Stay ahead of the storm. Find evacuation routes, safety tips and more in the Hurricane Guide .
Going Green
Help do your part to save water and reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions. Go Green!
Read the AJC and stay on top of everything in Atlanta! Get delivery for less than $2 a week!
Join Channel 2 Action News anchors John Pruitt and Monica Pearson at 5, 6, and 11pm.