Image Credit: Rutherford County Library System / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
At their most recent meeting, the Rutherford County Library Board discussed several potential policy changes including one regarding books on transgender ideology due to a letter from Secretary of State Tre Hargett citing a Trump Executive Order restoring biological truth to the federal government, much to the dismay of citizens who stand against “book bans”.
On Sept. 8, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent a letter to state library officials reiterating that in order to receive federal grant monies for purposes like purchasing new books, technology improvements, construction, and other general operations, recipients must adhere to state, federal, and local laws, specifically citing President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” as a standard with which all libraries receiving grant funds must comply.
Hargett reminded recipients that the EO prevents federal funds, often present in grants from the Tennessee State Library & Archives, from being used to promote gender ideology as defined in the EO. He also emphasized the necessity of enforcing the Dismantling DEI Departments Act passed earlier this year which prevents governmental entities from using “discriminatory preferences to promote, diversity, equity, or inclusion.”
“Libraries receiving grant funds must comply with laws or regulations, whether they have been in place for years or have recently become effective. If you have questions about compliance with grant contracts or federal or state law, I encourage you to contact your county attorney,” the letter reads.
Standing in opposition to the directives of the letter, the Rutherford County Library Alliance believes it could lead to the removal of more books from library shelves as institutions work to comply with the EO.
“We would like to hope that our board members would have the courage to stand up for our community and our First Amendment rights but given their past voting behavior and statements they have made publicly, we are not very optimistic. This is a very sad time for Rutherford County and the state of Tennessee, as history has proven time and again that those banning books and censoring information are never ‘the good guys,’” said a statement from the Alliance.
In March of this year, the Rutherford Library Board had been rather proactive in purging books which promoted, encouraged, or advocated for transgender ideology to children, but in June reversed that decision after their actions drew national attention and two lawsuits were filed against the Rutherford County Board of Education by the ACLU and PEN America.
At the meeting on Monday evening, several citizens spoke against complying with the EO, with one speaker calling it “so unconstitutional it’s not even funny,” and another arguing that since the government is currently shutdown and the worker who would check compliance “with this billionaire-backed executive order” is furloughed, the decision on the policy change should also be furloughed at least until the government is reopened.
No intense discussion was held about the letter during the meeting as it was only included on the agenda for transparency purposes and the confirmation that the governing board of the library had received it.
The board is also reconsidering usage of several other guiding policies from the American Library Association including the Library Bill of Rights, Freedom To Read Statement, Freedom to View Statement, and the Code of Ethics, all of which purport that libraries or their oversight boards cannot and should not censor or purge materials.
No decisions were made at the meeting as its focus was on considerations and recommendations about the policies, but the board may officially vote on any changes at their scheduled Dec. 1 meeting.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
3 Responses
Yup, lucifer’s accursed dimmercraps insist on keeping vile anti-God perversion books available to leftist indoctrinate immature minds.
Book ban……… Where does it say it’s a book ban? Keeping porn and transgender out of libraries is not a book ban. The lunatic left may want them but they lost the election that dictates what the majority of the people want, and it’s not porn and transgender crap in our libraries…….PERIOD
Banning books is the complete elimination of some books. No one is calling for the complete elimination of books. What they are doing is not BANNING books. It is keepin inappropriate reading materials out of our PUBLICLY FUNDED school libraries. If this school district decides to defy the rules then they can do whatever they want but the taxpayer do not have to and should allow public funds to flow to the school. If they want to act like a private enterprise then lets treat them like a private enterprise.