"It's an absolute travesty, but it would appear that you won't be stopped until, hopefully, the lawsuits begin in earnest." --Amy Jane Hoogstraet Safley
By Gretchen Garrity
The battle to make libraries safe again for children is a minefield. Organizations like the American Library Association (ALA) are extremely organized and well funded, and they often offer resources to those who oppose parental rights and the protection of children from age inappropriate and sexually explicit materials.
The political agenda to sexually indoctrinate children and demoralize them is well documented in books like "The Naked Communist," by W. Cleon Skousen. I want to thank the Christian County Library staff for purchasing this book for its collection.
While court decisions are beginning to move in a direction that recognizes the rights of parents, and the rights of public libraries to curate their collections without forced book shelving, the battle is still deeply engaged.
A recent case in Wyoming illustrates how complex the issue can be. A library director, Terri Lesley, was fired in 2023 and later sued under federal law. According to an article just published, "Lesley claimed that she was discriminated against because of her association with and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
Three more claims alleged that the commissioners and library board violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects people who oppose discriminatory practices against, advocate on behalf of, and associate with protected classes."
Not only did Lesley sue her county commission and the library board, but she has also sued a family in the community in a separate suit. While that suit is in the discovery phase, the suit against the library board and commission has been settled: "According to a settlement agreement provided to the News Record, the commission and the library board settled with Lesley for $700,000. The settlement agreement 'is not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party,' according to the court document."
Lesley had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2023, which this year gave her a notice of right to sue. These things take time to shake out.
In exchange for the money to be paid out to Lesley and her attorneys, the former director agreed to dismiss the suit. This is common in such cases, because insurance companies are hesitant for lawsuits to go forward with expensive litigation costs.
Note that while the legal arguments were based on personal discrimination claims against the library director, Lesley's lawyer stated: "...that she hopes this sends the message that 'elected and appointed officials need to represent the interest of their entire community, not just a small band of activists.'
“'It is really important to remember the ideals of America,' she said. 'We do not discriminate, we believe in the First Amendment.'”
Of ten claims, only two mentioned First Amendment violations: "The seventh and eighth claims for relief had to do with the First Amendment. They argued that as a public employee, Lesley could not suppress the First Amendment rights of library users 'by censoring books based on disfavored content or their association with historically marginalized minority groups.'
They also alleged that the commissioners and library board participated in 'viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,' meaning they engaged in 'censorship based on their disagreement with the content of Ms. Lesley’s protected speech and association.'”
Of course, none of these claims will be heard in court because the case has been settled. However, court cases like Little v. Llano and Peter Parnell v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida, and The Roxbury Moms are bringing clarity to the issue of age inappropriate and sexually explicit books in school and public libraries. The Parnell suit is being appealed to the 11th Circuit Court.
Note in the two screenshots I provided that local activist citizens are suggesting lawsuits or other actions may or should be taken against the Christian County Library District and/or the board members. These are not the only examples that are out there. This is an aggressive strategy being used all over the United States to force a viewpoint, to force shelving of books, and to deny parental rights--not to mention the protection of children.
Mr. Swick is a retired teacher who seems to hope that actions be taken against the board of trustee members as individuals outside of their official actions as a board, thereby depriving these unpaid volunteers of legal costs protection. Incidentally, Mr. Swick's Facebook comment was very quickly deleted from U-turn in Education's page. However, a screenshot was obtained. U-turn in Education was founded by MSU professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk.