Laura Mallory has spent the last couple of years, legal fees, and too many people's time trying to get the Harry Potter series removed from the shelves of the school libraries in Georgia. I don't really have to explain why, do I — witchcraft, children, bad, etc. The local school board shot her down, as did the state board, and now a superior court judge. Next stop — federal court.

Here's the best part — Mallory hasn't even read the books. She says she doesn't have time, what with not working and dropping kids off at school. But she does have time for an obsession with a harmless, fictional children's book that even Christian groups across the country have hailed as teaching good against evil.

"At Tuesday's hearing, Mallory argued in part that witchcraft is a religion practiced by some people and, therefore, the books should be banned because reading them in school violates the constitutional separation of church and state."

Let's start with this — witchcraft is not a religion. More specifically, Wicca and variations are practiced by people, have been recognized as a religion since 1974, and were recently allowed to display their religious symbols on soldiers' graves and remembrance walls. The "witchcraft" of Harry Potter, however, is not real at all. If there is someone out there who can wave a wand, say something in Latin, and suddenly a child sprouts a tail, I'd like to meet that person. Until then, what goes in a Harry Potter book has never and will never be considered a religion.

Next, Mallory argues the books violate the separation of church and state. For argument's sake, fine. But Mallory also says, "I have a dream that God will be welcomed back in our schools again." So, Harry Potter is not welcome due to violating church/state, but Mallory's Christian God should be? And here's what it's obviously about — a Christian stamping her feet about not having control over what other people's children believe (or don't). Georgia residents — pray for your tax dollars.

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Bigger Issues

Writegal’s general tone pretty much expressed the emotions I felt yesterday in the wee morning hours as I listened to the story update. Isn’t this what makes America so-o-o… something, I thought -- intriguing, weird, zany? Or something. The “this” I’m referring to is Ms. Mallory’s complete, and rather comical, utter lack of shame in acknowledging that she has not actually read the Potter books, apparently not a single one. But then, hey, if a book title has “POT” anywhere in its name, there really can be no good that comes of it, now can there? I digress. (I’m beginning to sound like an SNL Weekend Update guest from yesteryear, Emily Litella [by Gilda Radner], an elderly character with a hearing problem who would ramble on about the day’s hot topic that she didn’t quite accurately hear or comprehend [Eagle Rights, instead of Equal Rights]. When the topic became clear, she would abruptly end with, “Never mind.”)

I say - let’s bring back good, old-fashioned “shame.” Shame on you, Ms. Mallory. Let’s not waste tax dollars doing witch-hunts when you can’t even say you’ve read the material in question. As a basic courtesy to the taxpayers funding our legal system, go back and read the literary work before you demand to be heard in a judicial venue.

Although some possible thorny issues have been injected into the fray – even one of the Pope’s people had previously weighed in -- I think Ms. Mallory has got bigger issues to confront.

Atkeison | May 30, 2007

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