Kansas Library Removes LGBTQ+ Books in Order to Keep Lease

[Eugene]

Source: The Advocate

Kansas Library Removes LGBTQ+ Books in Order to Keep Lease

St. Marys Public Library yielded to city commission demands influenced by the Society of St. Pius X, an anti-LGBTQ+ group, which has sparked concerns over censorship of LGBTQ+ content.

CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
NOVEMBER 24 2023 9:04 AM EST

In an alarming development for the LGBTQ+ community in Kansas, the public library in St. Marys has removed all youth-oriented LGBTQ+ books from its shelves to secure its lease for another year.

This decision, highlighted by the Kansas Reflector, was in response to pressure from the city commission, influenced by the Society of St. Pius X, a religious group opposed to LGBTQ+ content.

City commissioner Gerard Kleinsmith had been particularly vocal in this debate, expressing his desire to terminate the library’s lease due to the inclusion of transgender-inclusive literature, which he derogatively refers to as “garbage,” according to the publication.

Despite claiming to oppose censorship, Kleinsmith and other commissioners, all members of the Society of St. Pius X, have made it clear that their religious views heavily influence their decisions regarding the library’s content.

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Read more: https://www.advocate.com/news/kansas-library-removes-lgbtq-books

[stopdiggin]

1. Wait! All commissioners are members of this religious society .. ?

Ya' know - that there might be yur problem ...

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Cowards. And ugly bigotry raises its head higher than the Sunflowers that grace the state of KS.

And while the rest of the Country (in reality, most of the Country) has come to accept the LGBT communities. Another stain on KS.

I hope that you're proud of yourselves in KS. I'll make sure that I no longer buy any sunflower seeds or any other KS products.

[Valdosta]

3. I'm wondering what they did with the books.

Move them to storage? Burn them?

[slightlv]

4. I guess its good i left the

Library position some years ago. I lived working there. One of the few places that felt like "home"... these days I'd be hard pressed not to throw more than a few of their right wing titles back at them as garbage... not to mention quite a few of their Christianist books I similarly declare garbage... like the Left Behind series of nothing but sheer heresy. No doubt I'd be thrown out in no time flat.

There are avid readers in Ks... and a lit of people who don't believe in censorship. But most of them, like me, have been gerrymandered so bad our votes are completely diluted. Still... we keep pushing.

[RKP5637]

5. Places that repress LGBT rights often repress many others rights too and are places filled with bigotry and hatred.