What are Community Standards and how are Community Standards governed? Court rulings regarding Community Standards do exist and generally determine whether an act resides with or against the average person’s moral judgment on decency within a community. The topic of Community Standards is at the heart of the opposition brought forward by a group of community members who are opposed to a Uintah County Library meeting room being used by a private group to host a Drag Story Hour scheduled next month. Multiple public comments made during the Uintah County Library Board meeting on April 28th dialed in on what they said the standards of the Vernal community have demonstrated over the years, from shutting down a proposed bikini contest at the rodeo to requiring filters be placed on the library’s internet. Michelle Rowell read from library policies 2.1.7 and 2.1.8 about content needing to meet accepted Community Standards. She then stated, “By definition a standard is something that’s established by custom or general consent and a Drag Story Time for our children is not customary in our community and would not receive general consent. If your policy says the event must follow Community Standards, it has not received that general consent.” Uintah County Ordinance 9.08.040 was referenced as a measure of the Community Standard, which states, “It is unlawful for any person to conduct himself or herself in a lewd, wanton or lascivious manner in speech or behavior in, about or on any school building or grounds.” Specific social media posts and music lyrics from Tara Lipsyncki, the drag queen scheduled to attend the upcoming event, were referenced and labeled as lewd, prompting the commenter to urge the library board members to preview the performer’s material in advance to determine if it meets Community Standards. On May 2nd, members of the group opposing the Drag Story Hour on the basis of Community Standards attended the Uintah County Commission meeting. During public comment it was stated, “There is no general consensus by the community that this is an acceptable thing to have in a public space.” The Commissioners were asked what the next step is in adhering to Community Standards. In response, the group was encouraged to contact the Uintah County Attorney’s Office to have their questions answered.
