Rep. Dean Fisher’s latest assault on Iowa’s libraries isn’t about protecting taxpayers or children — it’s about silencing viewpoints he dislikes and keeping voters scared, uninformed, and easy to control. His support for House File 880 is nothing more than a paranoid attempt to punish libraries for existing outside his narrow ideology.

Fisher claims the Iowa Library Association (ILA) and the American Library Association (ALA) have been “taken over” by Democrats, as if ensuring access to books is some radical agenda. In reality, these organizations help libraries provide essential services for all Iowans, regardless of political affiliation. But Fisher thrives on ignorance–he doesn’t want a well-informed public.

His fearmongering about “Queering the Catalog” and “sexual materials for children” is a desperate distraction. Libraries already follow guidelines for age-appropriate content, and parents have every right to decide what their children read. No library in Iowa is forcing inappropriate materials on kids. But Fisher, in his crusade to control what people think, wants you to believe librarians are part of a vast conspiracy. It would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.

And make no mistake — this won’t stop at sexuality. Once Fisher succeeds, he and his allies will target anything that challenges their worldview: books on civil rights, history, science, and religion. Today, it’s LGBTQ+ stories. Tomorrow, it’s discussions of race, evolution, or different faiths. This is about power, not protection.

House File 880 is a weapon to defund libraries that don’t conform to Fisher’s puritanical vision. He believes he should decide what Iowans can and can’t read. That’s not democracy; it’s censorship. Iowa’s libraries serve everyone–conservative and liberal alike–but they can’t do it without funding. If this bill passes, it will erase access to knowledge for all Iowans, not just those Fisher disapproves of.

The real obscenity here isn’t books — it’s politicians like Fisher using government power to control what people learn. Iowans deserve better.