Harry? Not scary.

The boy wizard has leveled a defeat against the Lords of Stupidity once again. Last month I posted about a fundie parent who wanted the Potter series taken off public school shelves (and replaced with the Left Behind kids series). Last night the Gwinnett school board voted unanimously to keep the books:

A Loganville mother asked the board of the state's largest school district to ban the books, which she said promotes and glorifies witchcraft. But school board members said the books have merit and have improved students' reading skills.

Board member Carole Boyce said her family enjoys reading the books.

"At the very heart of this issue is censorship," Boyce said. "Our students do understand the difference between fact and fiction. Let's let those who want to read the Harry Potter books have the opportunity to do so."

This is what Ms. Mallory had to say about it:

"I knew what they were going to do, but it's good we live in a country where you can stand up for what you believe in. God is alive and real and he says it [witchcraft] is an abomination. How can we say it is good reading material?"

We can say that because it's, oh, true. But don't let silly ol' facts get in the way of your desire for everyone to suffocate in that bubble you live in, mmmmkay?

Mallory has not yet decided if she will appeal to the state board of education.

In 2005, the American Library Association received 405 challenges (a formal written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed). It is estimated that with every one formal challenge reported, four or five go unreported.

“Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.”—Lyndon B. Johnson