Parents have victory over LGBT children’s displays at Texas public library – as Library Board votes in new policy
Follows months of outrage by local citizens at Board meetings
Organized by MassResistance Texas activist
“It’s not perfect but potentially everything we want”
April 21, 2018
Local parents and citizens came to the Temple Library Board meeting on Tuesday morning, April 17.
Around the country there are battles over homosexual and transgender groups pushing their agenda on children in public libraries. In Texas parents are fighting back and winning.
After months of relentless outrage directed at their local Library Board over an aggressive “gay pride” display targeting children in the public library, parents and citizens in Temple, TX have forced the Board to back down, despite pressure from outside pro-LGBT groups not to change anything.
The "gay pride month" library display for children included colorful books, posters, placards, and even slogans on the walls promoting homosexuality and transgenderism.
Thus, on April 17 the Board approved an official library display policy. The policy has some vague parts, so the issue is likely not completely settled. But this is clearly a victory for parents. Local LGBT activists are not happy.
The Temple Library Board, seated at the table, votes to accept the display policy as parents (and a few LGBT activists) seated along the wall look on.
Months of pressure from parents and citizens
It’s been a long battle. Starting back in October, a local pro-family group, Concerned Christian Citizens, organized by Joe Goodson – a pastor and Texas MassResistance activist – reacted to the alarm from local parents. Joe first tried to work with the library staff, but they had no intention of cooperating. So he decided to focus on the Library Board.
Photo: Temple Tribune
Concerned Christian Citizens filled the Board’s October and January quarterly meetings with outraged citizens. In October they held a multi-town symposium to educate parents, featuring Texas MassResistance speakers. At first the Board refused to act. So the group filed a formal “Request for Reconsideration” to have them revisit the policy. Then they did a petition drive (handwritten, not electronic) throughout the city.
And unlike pro-family “establishment” types, they didn’t mince words when testifying at Board meetings. They described homosexual behavior as dangerous and immoral sexual perversion, and read descriptive passages from the Book of Romans and other Bible verses. “Being born homosexual or so-called transgender is a myth.” They told it like it is.
LGBT movement fought back
Pushing homosexual and transgender propaganda on children is an obsession with the LGBT movement, and they fought hard to stop these parents. They came and testified at every meeting where the parents were. They had their own petition (but only online signatures). They started a vicious social media campaign against the parents. But almost all of it came from out of town (including many of the activists at the meetings).
LGBT activists came to testify and intimidate parents.
They employed the usual hyper-emotional and illogical arguments. Their weird websites attacked parents. A well-funded national group with ties to the pornography industry sought to “advise” the Library Board. It was pretty much a full court press.
Interestingly, the Concerned Christian Citizens had requested that if “gay pride” be allowed, then “both sides of the issue” be allowed. This really angered the LGBT activists. While they were screaming for “free speech” rights, they also wanted to ban any opinion that “demeaned” homosexual behavior. It certainly revealed their hypocrisy.
A library display policy passes …
The Library Board and the library staff was overwhelmingly supportive of the LGBT cause. But the parents had the boots on the ground, and weren’t going away. The Board couldn’t help but get the message loud and clear. Something had to be done. The day before the April 17 quarterly Library Board meeting, a draft “library display” policy was released.
At the meeting eight pro-family parents and two pro-LGBT activists spoke. A former local School Board chairman was one of the pro-family people to testify, and he showed the Board his copy of the MassResistance book The Health Hazards of Homosexuality. He told them that this is what people should be learning about.
The Board then voted 7-0 to formally accept the draft library policy.
… But it’s unnecessarily vague
It’s clearly a victory for the parents. But things still are not conclusive. The Board seems to want to leave room to retreat back at some later date. The policy is mostly boilerplate-like language and seems to be purposely vague and non-specific in key areas. There are basically two sentences of importance:
Displays should not promote a specific religion, political party, or cause.
Final approval of all displays lies with the Library Director.
Is “gay pride month” a considered a cause and therefore not allowed as a display? Here’s what the Library Director (who will approve all displays) said in a TV interview:
That would be something we would have to discuss, what the content is. But we wouldn't put up an LGBT display because that might fall under, for some people, a cause. But if we wanted to display our materials again we would let people know.
Not real clear. But she definitely understands the protest and why the Board needed to devise a policy.
Also, does “should not promote a specific religion” give the library a reason to ban Christmas and Easter displays? No one was complaining about the library’s religious displays. This is a disturbing possibility.
Another sentence in the policy:
Topical displays should represent the wide variety of viewpoints offered in the collections.
The phrase “offered in the collections” is key. Thus it is important that the book The Health Hazards of Homosexuality be part of the library’s official “collection” of books and materials. This book was donated at the January Board meeting, but so far has not been included by the library. Joe said they’re going to be working on making that happen.
So the struggle will continue
Joe Goodson says that, unfortunately, the vague nature of the policy means that it’s going to require constant vigilance – and the willingness to get back into the fight. Joe told MassResistance:
The policy can be everything it should be. But if we let down our guard, it’s broad enough to be re-interpreted in a bad way. So we’re cautiously optimistic. At this point they seem battle weary and trying to appease us. They need to realize that this is the community rising up against the outside groups from other places.
Big local media coverage
Thanks to the outstanding local activism by Joe Goodson and the Concerned Christian Citizens, their battle was a big deal in Temple, TX! The April 17 Library Board meeting (which normally is universally ignored) was covered by the local newspaper and three television stations. And shockingly, the coverage was all very fair and relatively unbiased.
Temple Tribune: New display policy approved by Temple Library board
KWTX TV-10 (video): Temple library board approves display policy
KCEN TV-6 (video): Following debate over LGBT display, Temple library develops new policy
KWKT FOX-44 TV (video): Temple Library Board votes to impose display guidelines
What this means – lessons learned
To be blunt, these library officials and Library Board are like those we’ve seen everywhere else. They believe in these radical agendas. They don’t care anything about the psychological wellbeing of children or the wishes of parents. There is something sinister that attracts these kinds of people to work in libraries.
Taking on these people takes determination and perseverance. It takes the willingness to tell the truth without fear.
And it often takes the willingness to stand up to vicious LGBT activists and their anger, emotion, and a flood of twisted logic and lies. These are strategies calculated to intimidate parents. But overcoming it all is always worth it.
Concerned Citizens of Texas, let by Texas MassResistance activist Joe Goodson, is not backing down and is ready to continue the fight as long as necessary!
The rest of us can help in our own towns by donating The Health Hazards of Homosexuality to their local public libraries – and making sure that it gets on the shelves!
This is the book that needs to be in every library! |
 |