Long Island Library Backtracks on Removing LGBTQ Books
metroweekly.comNBC New York.A mother in Brunswick, Maryland, recently performed a similar stunt, checking out all the books from an LGBTQ library display in order to preserve children’s “innocence.”The move prompted outrage from members of the LGBTQ community. “I was horrified by the display of ignorance at last night’s Board meeting,” Brianna Baker-Stines, the president of the library board, said after the vote last Tuesday. “As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I recognize the importance of access to diverse materials.”“I feel like I’m living in the Twilight Zone,” Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker told NBC New York. “Earlier this year, when Florida was ramming destructive ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws through its state legislature, I lamented the fact that this coordinated, nationwide assault on the LGBTQ+ community could soon arrive on our doorstep.
Well, it’s here.“What transpired in Smithtown shows us that we cannot pull the wool over our own eyes for a moment longer by saying, ‘it won’t happen here,'” Drucker added.Following the vote, the board of trustees issued a statement saying LGBTQ books are still part of the library’s collection and can be checked out by anyone wishing to do so, according to the Daily Voice.“These titles have not been removed from the collection,” the board said in its statement. “The Library continues to display Pride month displays in our Teen and Adult areas.”The trustees’ vote was criticized by New York Gov.
