Hysteria Over LGBTQ+ Books Might Close a Michigan Library Forever
Due to an issue over the availability of LGBTQ+ resources in a western Michigan public library, a dispute arose concerning the facility’s millage property tax renewal, leading to a great deal of uncertainty about how the library will continue to operate when the current millage dollars stop.The Patmos Library's board president, Larry Walton, told the Associated Press that because voters passed no millage renewal in Tuesday’s primary election, the library would lose 84 percent of its $245,000 budget.
The millage renewal failed with 1,905 people voting no and 1,142 people voting yes.Conservative residents of Jamestown, Mich., opposed the renewal because they feared the library wouldn’t remove all LGBTQ+ materials, Walton told the AP.“They’re protesting all LGBTQ books that are on our shelves,” Walton explained.
He said they wanted to ban the books, “which is unacceptable.”“We, the board, will not ban the books,” Walton told the news wire.Most people who have expressed opposition to LGBTQ+ books in public libraries have said they oppose anything short of a complete ban on books relating to these communities because they believe they are unsuitable for children.It is unlikely that children would be unable to access books even when they are placed in the library’s adult section, Cody Newhouse, who voted against the millage, told WOOD, Western Michigan's NBC affiliate. “It’s only the LGBTQ stuff that bothers me, with my kids in particular,” Newhouse said. “If you’re older, make your own decision, that’s totally fine.
