Michigan library could close after town votes to defund it over 5 LGBTQ-themed books

Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by SAT0725

Jamestown Township, Michigan — A small Michigan town is locked in a war over words. The battle in Jamestown Township is over five books with LGBTQ+ themes.

The books include "The Breakaways," two books from the "Heartstopper" series, "Kiss Number 8" and "Spinning."

A group called the Jamestown Conservatives recently led a successful drive to essentially defund the town's library and remove the books from shelves.

"These books and lifestyle choices are destructive and wrong," said one Jamestown resident during a meeting on removing the books.

Library board president Larry Walton says removing the books is censorship.

"It's heartbreaking to be associated with this situation," Walton said. "I feel like we've kind of stepped back in time, talking about book banning."

Across the country, book banning in libraries and schools is gaining momentum. A recent study found that between July 2021 and June 2022, more than 1,600 books were banned in more than 5,000 schools across 32 states.

"What we've seen are citizens calling and filing criminal complaints about books available in libraries," said Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at free speech advocacy group PEN America. "And I've seen that in numerous states."

Jamestown resident Dean Smith is among those who want the books off the shelves. He says his opposition isn't about intolerance or bigotry, but instead about keeping any explicit books away from children.

"Community standards in Jamestown are not the same as in New York, L.A. or even in Grand Rapids," he said. "We don't want any sexually or violently graphic material on display for kids to see when they come in the library."

Emotions were high at the library board's September meeting on the issue.

"I appreciate passion. I do," board treasurer Deb Fridsma said at the meeting. "But it is a slippery slope. You cherish your freedom, but what you're doing now is taking other people's freedoms away."

The final chapter will be written in November, when voters will again be asked to decide on funding and the fate of the library.

sinjin88 on October 6th, 2022 at 14:04 UTC »

It's strange how much books offend people that don't read.

TripleDigit on October 6th, 2022 at 13:12 UTC »

Goes to show that people in favor of banning some books are totally fine with just losing all the books.

umphtramp on October 6th, 2022 at 12:57 UTC »

This is truly ridiculous. I use our public library weekly with getting books for my toddler and it's such a great resource instead of having to buy books and figure out where to keep them. I couldn't imagine losing access to something like this. If there is a book there you don't like, just don't check it out. It's really not a hard concept.