by | Mar 26, 2025 | The Hill
A federal judge on Tuesday put a hold on an Iowa law that says schools cannot carry books that depict sex acts.
District Judge Stephen Locher placed a temporary block on the ban, saying there were “several dozen unconstitutional applications” of the law regarding books with “undeniable political, artistic, literary, and/or scientific value,” listing examples including “1984,” “Brave New World” and “The Fault in Our Stars.”
This is the second time Locher has blocked the law, also doing so shortly after it was signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in 2023. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, overturned that ruling and made the law enforceable for the 2024-2025 school year.
“The bottom line is that the unconstitutional applications of the book restrictions in Senate File 496 far exceed the constitutional applications of those restrictions under both legal standards the Court believes are applicable,” Locher said this week.
A suit challenging the law was brought by the Iowa State Education Association and multiple best-selling authors, including Jodi Picoult.
The decision will likely be appealed again.
“As a mom, I know how important it is to keep schools a safe place for kids to learn and grow. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about what materials their kids have access to when they’re not around. This common sense law makes certain that the books kids have access to in school classrooms and libraries are age-appropriate,” said Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R).
“I’m going to keep on fighting to uphold our law that protects schoolchildren and parental rights,” Bird added.
by | Mar 25, 2025 | The Hill
Democrat Dan Goughnour has won the open Pennsylvania state House seat left vacated by the death of the most recent officeholder,
Democrats’ narrow majority in the body, Decision Desk HQ projects.
Goughnour, who is a member of the McKeesport school board and a police officer, will win over Republican Chuck Davis, the president of the White Oak Borough Council. The result is not a surprise in the Democratic-leaning House District 35, which voted for former Vice President Harris in November with about 58 percent of the vote.
The seat has been vacant since January, when the late Rep. Matt Gergely (D)
in office. He had first been elected to the state House in 2023 in a special election to succeed now-Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (D) and was reelected to a full term in November without opposition.
Gergely’s death reduced the Democrats’ 102-101 majority down to an even split with the Republicans, but Goughnour’s victory will return the body to the composition it had. Democrats won that majority in the state House for the first time in a decade in 2022 and kept it exactly intact in November.
The party has needed to win a few special elections since then to keep the majority.
The Democratic National Committee signaled its strong interest in securing this seat with newly elected DNC Chair Ken Martin
a national tour in McKeesport and campaigning with Goughnour in February.
Martin said in a statement that Goughnour will fight for families, and his win allows Pennsylvania Democrats to better stand up to President Trump and defends Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) from Republican legislators pushing constitutional amendments to bypass his power.
“Building the Democratic Party back begins in the states and down-ballot wins like Rep.-elect Goughnour’s offer a powerful rebuke of Trump and Elon Musk’s MAGA agenda,” Martin said.
The state House district is located in Alleghany County in western Pennsylvania, to the southeast of Pittsburgh.
