NEWS PROVIDED BY
Liberty Counsel
July 19, 2019
WASHINGTON, July 19, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) recently held its annual national conference and provided librarians from across the country with strategies for bringing LGBT propaganda, pornography, and "drag queen story times" for children into primarily taxpayer-funded public libraries while avoiding parents' knowledge.
More than 21,000 people attended the 2019 week-long conference in June, approximately 4,000 more than last year. The conference featured more than 100 workshops with an "equity, diversity, and inclusion" theme that included workshops such as: "Queerness in comics; A Child's Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries; LGBTQ+ Creators and Characters in Kids, Tween, and Teen Comics; Reading the Rainbow: Teaching Kids about Pride and LGBTQ+ History; Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor’s Right to Privacy in the Library; and Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Story Times in Libraries."
A workshop titled, "Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor’s Right to Privacy in the Library" asked questions such as "Should libraries record and share a minors' internet browsing habit with their parents?" A panel of experts discussed the "laws and ethical statements applicable to minors' privacy rights" and "positive and proactive ways that libraries can protect minors' privacy and confidentiality." In fact, the ALA has publicly noted that one of the five top methods of censorship encountered by librarians is "requiring parental permission to access content."
In one breakout session about LGBT-themed children's literature, librarians brainstormed suggestions on how they could promote books regarding "non-traditional families" that included titles such as "My Brother's Husband," "Lumberjanes," and "Pregnant Butch." Another workshop, "A Child's Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries," provided "kid-friendly introductions to LGBTQ+ history and gender identity and incorporating gender neutral bathrooms into public spaces."
"Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Story Times in Libraries," was one workshop that featured a lesbian who started drag queen events at a public library in San Francisco. This session explored "the public library as a site for the intersection of gender expression/identity and intellectual freedom, by discussing the phenomenon of Drag Queen Story Time." It also featured a local "drag queen storyteller" who read a story to the attendees.
The workshop titled "Censorship Beyond Books" also instructed librarians about learning strategies to prepare them for backlash after promoting "drag queen story times. One of the panelists, the marketing and communications director for the Saint Paul Public Library in Minnesota, shared her library's effort to create and promote "drag queen story time." She said within an hour of the event being featured in the library's newsletter, complaints arrived via phone and email. After the event was picked up by conservative news outlets, calls started coming in from across the United States. As a result, the library coordinated with local police for added security during the process. Now the ALA also provides librarians "crisis communication plans" to "shield themselves" from events or materials they provide using public resources that generate a public backlash, such as the "drag queen story hours."
Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Taxpayer-funded public libraries have no business promoting sexual perversion, gender confusion and pornography to children. Parents do not want their children exposed to this kind of gutter trash. The American Library Association is now actively grooming innocent children for sexual abuse and causing irreversible harm to them," said Staver.
Liberty Counsel is nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.
SOURCE Liberty Counsel
CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org
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