Tennessee library director fired after refusing to move LGBTQ+-themed kids’ books to adult section | Tennessee

A library director in Tennessee was fired for refusing to move more than 100 LGBTQ+-themed children’s books to the adult section of the library system.

The Rutherford County Library Board voted to remove Luanne James on Monday after a heated emergency meeting that included Luanne James’ supporters. to sing hymn “We stand with Luanne!” While wearing shirts that say “Protect the freedom to read.”

The meeting also attracted critics of James, with one person says: “Their aim is not to deliver the books to their own children, but to deliver them to our children. And the things they feed with these books are complete lies.”

Before he was sacked, James stood by his decision, saying: “I won’t change my mind.”

One email In a letter to the Rutherford County library system board in early March, James criticized the board’s decision to relocate children’s books: “Restricting access to these materials through subjective relocation or removal constitutes a violation of the community’s right to information and a direct violation of the principles of free expression.”

He added: “Our libraries are funded by and for citizens, so the right to access information without government interference is a protected feature of our democracy.

“My duty to protect public access is not merely a personal opinion; it is a fundamental tenet of the American Library Association’s code of ethics. As an arm of district government, the board cannot lawfully limit public access to publicly owned materials based on the content of the ideas expressed in them.”

James stated that he would not comply with the board’s decision, stating that it would violate the constitutional first amendment right to free speech of “all citizens of Rutherford County and myself.”

“As a result,” he added, “I would be compromising my professional obligation to oppose government-mandated viewpoint discrimination.”

Meanwhile, Cody York, chairman of the library’s board of directors, defended the institution’s decision: saying: “Gender confusion [is] the idea of ​​telling someone that boys aren’t really boys, they can be girls, and girls aren’t really girls, they can be boys, and you have to defend that. [or] Promote the breakdown of healthy genitals.”

Claims like York’s—particularly the framing of gender-focused care for minors as the “dismemberment” of body parts—are common anti-trans talking points among conservatives.

However, these are widely refuted By healthcare professionals who emphasize the importance of gender-affirming care There is a wide range This primarily includes mental health support and, in some cases, reversible treatments Like puberty blockers. Many hospitals do this We do not offer surgical intervention Definitely for little ones.

Following James’ firing, Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said the fired director “demonstrated, at a high price, his deep commitment to freedom of reading and the principles of librarianship.”

As the Tennessee Attorney, Meehan said, “His story will resonate across the country as an icon of the fight against censorship and oppression.” reported.

Amid a rise in book bans across the country and broader attacks targeting LGBTQ+ communities, 500 hostile bills, Librarians in at least a half-dozen states have joined forces with civil rights groups to push back. This included working to protect LGBTQ+ rights and challenging what librarians and their allies call a “manufactured crisis.”