Connecticut Lawmaker’s Dirty Children’s Book Reading Rattles Late-Night Budget Debate

HARTFORD, CT- Connecticut Democrats have long alleged that Republicans are attempting to “ban books” due to the push to remove some titles from school libraries, which Republicans say contain graphic sexual content. However, when a Republican lawmaker attempted to read segments from one such book during a late-night budget debate this week, she was gavelled down by Deputy House Speaker Juan Candelaria (D-New Haven), according to the Hartford Courant. 

Rep. Anne Dauphinais of Danielson, a rural Connecticut town, is considered one of the most conservative members of the Republican House caucus. She became concerned when portions of a so-called “library bill” were inserted into the 693-page state budget, a document some Republicans complained they had little time to read. 

At around 11 p.m. Monday, Dauphanais alleged that graphic language was included in materials approved by the library bill, and she brought the receipts. She began to recite examples from various books. 

“Are you going to eat her p---y?” Dauphanais read from one book, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl", on the House floor. “Yeah, Earl, I am going to eat her p---y.” 

At that, Candelaria, who was overseeing debate, banged his gavel and stopped Dauphanais from speaking. 

“Madam, I would ask that we not try to use that type of language in the chamber and try to keep some decorum,” Candelaria said. “I know you were talking of specific books, but if we could refrain from those type of words because there are also people and children watching this debate…I would ask kindly if we could just use either a different word or something different, just out of respect for others that might get offended. Thank you.” 

“Mr Speaker, I stand here to share with the chamber the books that are available in our public school libraries to the very children you’re telling me that this language isn’t appropriate in this chamber,” Dauphanais replied. “This is in elementary school libraries, approved by the very individuals that are supposed to be the experts.” 

The exchange set off a furious debate that continued into the next day. While some lawmakers claimed the issue was overblown and designed as a distraction, others said young children are exposed to worse, far more graphic content, and pornography via their cell phones rather than libraries, which they claimed are seldom used. 

Under the provision inside the spending package, it would ensure that all libraries have written policies on the purchasing of books and, in the event of challenges to a book’s content, how to handle those disputes. Currently, some schools lack policies in place, while in other cases, the existing policies are decades old. 

“For the socially moderate, fiscally conservative Republicans that still exist in Connecticut, to know that our entire budget debate comes down to somebody who wants to make this a cultural issue and use words like that, would probably anger me,” House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters Tuesday. “Do I think that most Connecticut families are running around, scared of their libraries or librarians? No…I don’t think the average 14-year-old kid is going to the library and running into trouble and seeing things that maybe he or she should not see.” 

“So I feel bad for the fiscally moderate Republicans because it really hurts their brand,” Ritter (D-Hartford) continued. “For us, it was sort of just tomfoolery and riffraff. As I said to Juan [Candelaria], let her do it. I don’t care. Because they want the response, like children. You hurt your own party. You disrespect your own colleagues when you do that. You don’t disrespect the Democrats.” 

House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) dismissed Ritter’s criticism and defended Dauphanais and her right to speak out on a controversial issue. He further slammed Democrats for burying an important public policy issue deep inside a budget document at the last minute. 

“What was disrespectful was to have an implementer–a budget bill–that had a lot of policies that went well beyond the budget, and one of them being how libraries are going to be governed now,” Candelora told reporters Wednesday. “Librarians shouldn’t have carte blanche on what ends up in the library. There needs to be age-appropriate materials in appropriate sections.

“When government is providing services to the general public, we want to make sure that there are certain standards that are put in place,” Candelora continued. ‘So I object to my tax dollars being put in a library that might have pornographic material for children. I would just like assurances that there are age-appropriate sections in libraries. 

Candelora acknowledged that the language from the book being read by Dauphanais was “shocking,” however, “that is the reality of what is in the libraries around the state of Connecticut.” 

Speaking to the controversy surrounding the issue, he continued, “If an elected official has the courage to stand at a podium and say what she said and takes ownership of it, I have no problem with it…I don’t think she was trying to be gratuitous. I think she was trying to make a point, and she was quite effective in making that point because we are talking about it today.” 

House Democrats expressed no concern about obscene material being available to children, but appeared apoplectic about it being read on the House floor. 

“To repeat the vulgarity that is in them, on this floor, is something that we should never hear,” Rep. Larry Butler (D-Waterbury) said. I am so taken aback. So offended. I wasn’t raised like that and certainly didn’t come here to hear that.” 

Ellen Paul, executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium, praised the passing of the bill. 

“This bill is enormously important to public and school libraries across the state, and I am so pleased that it passed the House,” Paul said. 

While acknowledging that there have been challenges to such books being available to children in libraries, she downplayed the number of complaints, noting that there were controversies in five towns out of 169 in the state: Suffield, Colchester, Fairfield, Newtown, and Guilford.