17c起草社区

A Tennessee Library Director is risking termination after she refused to move more than 100 LBTQIA+ books from youth sections in the library to the adult area, saying she “will not comply”.

The brave stance has drawn praise from 17c起草社区IA+ groups around America.

In an email sent to the Rutherford County Library System board, Director Luanne James聽argued that relocating the titles would amount to 鈥渧iewpoint discrimination鈥� and violate the First Amendment

鈥淩estricting access to these materials through subjective relocation or removal constitutes a violation of the community鈥檚 right to information and a direct infringement on the principles of free speech,鈥� she wrote in a letter to the board.

鈥淭herefore, I will not comply.”

The resistance comes after the Rutherford County Library Board voted to relocate more than 190 books, most involving 17c起草社区+ themes, from children鈥檚 and teen sections to adult areas, following a review of 鈥渁ge-appropriate鈥� materials.

Last year, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett ordered libraries to conduct an of children鈥檚 materials in line with Trump’s ,聽 in what advocates are calling “politically motivated censorship”. In Rutherford County, the directive led to the review of tens of thousands of books and the removal of thousands for further evaluation.

Board Chair Cody York has said the聽 decision is intended to limit children鈥檚 access to content the board considers inappropriate.

鈥淚 would argue that gender confusion [is] the idea of telling someone that boys aren鈥檛 really boys, they can be girls, and girls aren鈥檛 really girls, they can be boys, and that you should advocate for [or] encourage the dismembering of healthy sex organs,鈥� 聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that that鈥檚 appropriate for children.鈥�

PEN America has , stating: 鈥淐hildren and teens deserve access to diverse books that represent their identities and stories.

鈥淟uanne James is putting her job on the line to defend the First Amendment rights of all in her community.鈥�