Both Cavanaughs opposed the proposed bill, which seeks to stop Nebraska teachers and librarians from sharing “obscene” material, even for educational purposes.
Before he started reading, Mr Halloran addressed “Senator Cavanaughs” in the plural and then continued by saying “Senator Cavanaugh” when describing a woman being raped.
Lucky is a memoir in which the writer tells the story of her being raped during her first year of college.
At least two of Mr Halloran’s colleagues called for him to resign. Megan Hunt, an independent senator, said it was “pure aggression to read a rape scene out loud and put it like that”.
Precious McKesson, head of the Nebraska Democratic Party, called the incident “unacceptable” and urged Mr Halloran to “resign now”.
John Cavanaugh, 43, said Mr Halloran, and other supporters of the bill, had also “missed the point”.
“There are graphic scenes in books,” said Mr Cavanaugh. “There are graphic things that happen to people in life, and stories have context, and they give meaning to the people who read them, who feel alone.
“The whole point is that we cannot make a determination writ large about what has value and to whom it has value.”
Source link
