ndrew: Oh. [laughs] Good point, Laura. All right, so as a lot of people might have heard over the past week, Laura Mallory has once again lost her court case.
Laura: Darn.
Andrew: Laura, you want to give us a quick update on this? We'll cut over to a news article.
Laura: Yeah, well I mean basically she went up - she appealed to the state and she lost again, and I believe one of her excuses now was that the reason she lost was because she didn't have a lawyer, and I really don't see how that even applies at all, because it's not a case where you even need a lawyer, it's just a matter of you can't sit there and dictate what other people can and can't have access to.
Andrew: Right. We actually have a news clip now that we wanted to play. It's - we wanted to talk about it because it's kind of funny. A couple of things she has to say. This was an interview with Laura Mallory that was held on...
Laura: Fox 5 News.
Andrew: On a local Fox News station in Atlanta. Laura, is this a good station down there?
Laura: No.
Andrew: No?
[Andrew, Micah and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Well we have a news report from it. Let's listen to this.
Reporter: After a year and a half of controversy over Harry Potter and his place in the library, the state school board, today voted to allow the book to remain on the shelves of Gwinnett County.
School Board: Thank you. It is unanimous for those present."
Reporter: The simple a reaction to the ruling by the board?"
Andrew: This is Laura talking.
Laura Mallory: "Not surprised. Expected."
Andrew: Nor surprised. Expected. She's been at this for how long, and that's all she has to say about it? A few words?
Micah: Over a year.
Laura: Well, I believe...
Andrew: Not surprised.
Laura: Well, I believe she continued to add at one point, that if all she was able to do was kind of help out any families who have had children convert to witchcraft, then that's fine with her, but...
Dylan: Please, think of the children.
Laura: Yeah, really. It's like, if we want to go on banning things that promote certain things to children, why don't we just go down the list here? I mean, I personally think we should ban Winnie the Pooh, because Pooh Bear doesn't wear pants.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Laura: We wouldn't want our children to think they can't wear pants.
Andrew: It just amazes me that this is her response on it. After all this, and that's what she has to say.
Dylan: It is quite shocking.
Andrew: Well, let's keep listening.
Reporter: "The fight began here in JC Magill Elementary School in Loganville, where a mother of four, Laura Mallory, believed the Harry Potter series was inappropriate for..."
Andrew: You know, she looks like your normal mother. There's nothing - you know, she looks like a nice lady. I don't...
Laura: Oh, I don't doubt for a moment that she's, you know...
Andrew: She seems like a nice person.
Laura: Yeah. She seems very polite, but I...
Andrew: Yeah, all right, keep going.
Dylan: It’s just like why don’t you just do something more useful, and maybe...
Laura: Exactly! That’s what I don’t get about her.
Dylan: Instead of banning, instead of trying to ban Harry Potter, which is – anyone who’s read the stories knows that they’re not teaching any kids witchcraft. I don’t know of any kids converting to witchcraft because they read Harry Potter.
Andrew: Right.
Dylan: It’s not the devil’s words. It’s a wonderful story.
Andrew: Yeah.
Dylan: And everybody loves it.
Laura: Well, you know what gets me about her? Is there are a number of charitable organizations that would bend over backwards to have someone so determined on their side.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: So, why is she wasting her time trying to get a book banned from a library?
Andrew: [sighs] Well.
Laura: There are people dying in the world. I’m sorry that’s all I have to say.
Andrew: Maybe the rest of the article has the answer.
Reporter: "...kids, in that she said it promoted witchcraft.
Laura Mallory: "The Harry Potter books are mainstreaming witchcraft to our children. They’re presenting it in a child-friendly format that’s dangerous and deceptive."
Andrew: Dangerous and deceptive. It can hurt you guys.
Laura: Child-friendly format of witchcraft?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: What? [laughs]
Andrew: That’s what she says, look out.
Reporter: "The issue was challenged at several levels, all the way up to the state board of education."
School Board Attorney: "The reason it probably has had such..."
Andrew: You know it just – they have a shot of all the people on the board here, like 20 people have to sit there and have there time wasted with this. Especially a unanimous decision, doesn’t that just scream, "Hey we don’t want to be bothered to do this." [laughs]
Laura: Yeah.
Dylan: I mean she kind of said it herself that it was expected so...
Andrew: Right. [laughs]
Dylan: Why are you going to pursue this anymore if you don’t think you’re going to win?
Andrew: [laughs] So why are you trying if you expected it. Okay yeah.
Dylan: Are you just trying to get like press time, or trying to raise more awareness for the cause? What cause? That won’t win.
Laura: No one wanted to deal with it this time, because I was actually looking in to going down there and speaking on behalf of the books and I read that they weren’t even allowing anyone from the public to come in and speak. It was just between herself and the Board of Education.
Andrew: They just wanted to get it over with.
Laura: Yeah. So, they just wanted to get it done.
Micah: Yeah. Well, it’s a First Amendment issue too and...
Andrew: Mhm.
Micah: ...when you try and mess with people’s first amendment rights, it’s always a touchy subject.
Andrew: Yeah.
School Board Attorney: "...the scrutiny is because in America we get very, very nervous if there ever is any type of censorship of educational materials or First Amendment materials."
Reporter: "Many Gwinnett educators claim the Potter series promoted reading."
Micah: See, this guy is on the same page.
Reporter: "And were a hot commodity at the checkout lines."
Andrew: Yeah.
Reporter: "Still the book wasn’t for everybody."
Librarian: "And they were children here who would never read this book because it’s not the kind of book they would like simply because of the genre of the book."
Reporter: "But kids do like it. Why do they like it?"
Librarian: "I think they just like fantasy."
Andrew: That’s the librarian talking. I mean that’s what it comes down to.
Laura: Yeah, exactly.
Andrew: If you don’t want to read it, don’t read it. But you know, you have a freedom of choice, but don’t ban the books for nobody to read them, just because you don’t want – you don’t think they’re right.
Reporter: "Some parents saw the fight as much ado about nothing."
Parent: "I think it’s an overreaction. You know I’m a very, I was telling him, I’m a very, very Christian person, but I think it’s more of a parental responsibility.
Reporter: "Will Laura Mallory appeal the decision to the superior court? She’s not sure yet but still proud that she fought the issue. In your mind worth the toil, the hassle, the abuse, the anything else you’ve taken?"
Laura Mallory: "Abuse, yeah." [laughs]
Andrew: Abuse from us calling her. [laughs]
Laura: Well, no. I’m sure she got a number of...
Micah: Well, abuse she's brought on herself.
Dylan: She brought it on herself.
Laura: ...a number of people who have harassed her.
Andrew: No, it cuts to a picture of our album art so I think that’s what they were talking about.
Laura: [laughs] Well, you know what I find interesting about this whole thing is, I don’t know if it’s the same in Gwinnett County, but when I was in the Forsyth County public schools, parents were actually allowed to have input on what their kids could and could not check out. Like, if you tried to checkout a book that your parents had said you could not, the system wouldn’t let you.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: So why doesn’t she just say, "My kids can’t check out Harry Potter."
Andrew: Yeah, right
Dylan: I think it’s dangerous whenever you suppress anything. Like, that’s why abortion such a touchy subject because some people think that it should still be allowed in some cases whether it at no point should be illegal, but then again there’s other people that say it’s morally bad. But Harry Potter is at a completely different level because it doesn’t really promote witchcraft in any way. I mean, it uses witchcraft in the books, but it doesn’t promote it, it doesn’t tell them, "Hey, go try these things, kids."
Andrew: Right.
Laura: I think Harry Potter is just a very popular scapegoat, basically.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura Mallory: "I think it’s worth it only if people will listen to do their own research. If even one family or one child has been saved from the heartache that other families have gone through with their children actually getting into witchcraft, then it’s worth it."
Andrew: A heartache? And what children have been getting into witchcraft? Is there any evidence of that? I mean, I’m not trying to rip her apart I just want to know, is there, is - does anyone know if there’s been evidence of witchcraft destroying children and causing heartache?
Laura: I have never heard of that.
Andrew: Anyone?
Micah: I don’t think so.
Dylan: I don’t know of anyone.
Micah: I don’t remember a story.
Dylan: Not one of my friends, at least.
Laura: Unless she thinks of little kids running around with fake plastic wands and yelling Expelliarmus is witchcraft, then no. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, that must be what she means because... [laughs]
Dylan: That ruins families, you know?
Andrew: Yeah, it really does.
Dylan: Eight year-olds waving wooden wands around, you know?
Andrew: Yeah.
Dylan: Terrible sight.
Andrew: So, that's that. [sighs] Well, it's interesting and, of course, she's going to go appeal it again. Laura, do you know anything else about that?
Laura: I don't think we've actually heard anything, have we?
Andrew: She's planning on it, isn't she?
Laura: I don't think there's been any confirmation of that.
Dylan: There have been talks of it, but we don't know if it's for sure.
Laura: Yeah, we don't know if it's for sure yet.
