When asked by Ford if he believes LGBTQ material is harmful to children, Tomes did not answer the question directly. The bill now moves to the House for consideration. All Democrats who were present voted against the bill, with three Republican Senators – Ron Alting, Jon Ford and Veneta Becker – joining them in opposition. The bill passed the Senate in a 37-12 vote largely along party lines. Tomes said he hadn’t personally found any such books in schools. He named the far right Northern Indiana group, Purple for Parents - an organization that promotes conspiracy theories and believes schools are teaching LGBTQ identities and sexualizing children. Tomes said parents provided research to him about pornographic materials found in local schools. Michael Young (R-Indianapolis), a co-author of SB 12, described the unidentified books at Tomes’ desk as “really bad, sickening - no one in this room would show this to their young child and feel it was a good thing to do.” They encouraged lawmakers to visit them at their Statehouse desks if they wanted to see examples of such material. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), named specific titles of books that were both found in schools and obscene in nature. Neither Tomes, nor the bill's second author Sen. Ford (D-Indianapolis) about what school corporations had pornographic material on their shelves, Tomes could not provide specifics. Tomes wrote similar legislation in recent years that failed to pass. James Tomes (R-Wadesville) authored the bill in response to concerns from parents who claim that pornography is rampant in schools.

The measure also establishes a process for parents to file complaints over inappropriate materials. Under Senate Bill 12, if a prosecutor charged a teacher or school librarian with disseminating material that is harmful to minors, the school teacher or librarian would not be able to argue that the material had educational value as a defense. Senators debated the legislation for roughly two hours, with supporters of the bill arguing that it closes a loophole, and opponents expressing fear that it will criminalize teachers and librarians and have a chilling effect on the types of books available in schools. Senate lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would strip teachers and school librarians of a legal defense against charges that they distributed harmful material to minors. 28, 2022 that would prevent teachers and school librarians from using a book’s educational value as a legal defense against charges they distributed harmful material to minors. Senate lawmakers approved a controversial piece of legislation in the Indiana Statehouse Tuesday, Feb.

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