Pennsylvania State Senator asked child “pornography” question during National Civics Bee competition
A Pennsylvania State Senator is apologizing after posing a pornography question to a 6th grade girl during a civics competition.
On Wednesday, April 16, a local National Civics Bee competition was held at Penn State Schuylkill in Schuylkill Haven, giving students in grades 6th through 8th a chance to “flex their civics knowledge for a chance to win recognition and cash prizes.”
According to the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce website, these student competitors came to discuss a variety of essay topics.
However, one student’s topic of Book Banning drew a bit of controversy, not because of her topic, but because of a question asked by one of the participating judges, who happens to be a State Senator.
According to a Facebook post by the mother of the girl whose essay was about book banning, State Sen. David Argall (R-Carbon/Luzerne/Schuylkill) asked the 6th grade girl if it was “appropriate to give pornographic magazines to kindergarteners.”
The mother says her daughter asked what the State Senator meant, seemingly because the young girl did not know what pornography was.
Argall, the mother says, then responded by telling the young girl that pornography was “naked pictures of people.”
“This discussion has no place at the Civics Bee,” the mother shared online. “I am further appalled and furious that I now have to explain pornography to my 4th grader who was there to cheer on her sister.”