The email, sent Aug. 24 to city council members, called for a “dialogue” between religious leaders concerned about June Pride displays, which were put up in library branches in June 2021, do not align with “family values”.
“We ask that such displays not be allowed in our city library. They do not align with the religious and family values of most parents in Arlington and are actually designed to influence children to adopt that lifestyle.” , according to the email, titled “For Your Eyes Only – Dialogue Request – Gay Pride Show Targeting Children.”
Co-signers of the emailed letter include Gary Hutchison of Grace Community Church; Maurice Pugh of New Life Fellowship; Richard Martinez from Iglesia Café; Dennis Wiles of Arlington First Baptist Church; Marty Collier of Rush Creek; Ronnie Goines of Koinonia Christian Church; Jason Paredes of Fielder Church; Jeff Hubbard of the North Davis Church of Christ; Stephen Hammond of Mosaic Church and Eric Herrstrom of Lake Church.
KERA contacted each pastor by email. None of the pastors were available for comment prior to press time.
The pastors requested a meeting with Mayor Jim Ross and the city council; however, they were told that they could not meet with all the members of the city council at once, as doing so would require a public meeting.
Seven of the pastors met with Ross, City Manager Trey Yelverton and Library Director Norma Zuniga on September 7. It is unclear which of the seven pastors met with city officials, as records received by KERA News only contain Herrstrom’s name on meeting invitations.
On October 6, Hutchison told the library’s advisory board that he and the other pastors who met with the leaders were concerned that identifying as part of the LGBTQ community would send children down a “path to pain.” .
“Some of it is because they’re not accepted and included in love and that’s horrible, but some of it is just because they’re going down that path,” Hutchison said during the meeting.
The pastors wrote in the email that they were not interested in opposing the LGBTQ community or creating controversy.
“To be clear, we are not interested in creating a public spectacle, nor are we interested in opposing the LGBTQIA+ community… Our goal in this requested conversation is to protect our community against sexually explicit and suggestive literature that is openly displayed in our public libraries aimed at the children/adolescents of this city,” the letter continues.
However, the issue of LGBTQ pride displays has resulted in more than eight hours of public debate at two Arlington Public Library Advisory Board meetings.
The board approved policies Oct. 27 that would restrict Pride month displays to young adult and adult sections and create permanent LGBTQ sections for all age ranges. Library board members and city council declared the decision a “compromise.”
The original policy, written by library staff, would have restricted Pride month exhibits to the adult section. Board member Zoe Wilkerson said Pride exhibits are selected based on what is appropriate for each section of the library for each age range. Having an adults-only pride display, she said during the Oct. 6 meeting, could lead to children accessing content deemed inappropriate for their age range.
Library board meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month, although the last meeting, which was canceled due to lack of a quorum, was scheduled for November 10. The board was supposed to discuss display guidelines.
The board was also scheduled to continue their conversation about graphic novels after residents raised concerns about “The Pervert,” written by Michelle Perez and illustrated by Remy Boydell. The novel depicts the life of a trans woman surviving through sex work in Seattle, and includes images of sexual acts and nudity.
Zuniga said during the Oct. 27 meeting that “The Pervert” has been moved to the adults-only section of the library, and that the library will undergo a new process for selecting graphic novels and reviewing existing collections. Zuniga also announced a new parental control feature that will allow parents to restrict material to kids-only content and/or young adult books. The library previously offered restrictions for children under 12 against adult books.
For LGBTQ mental health support, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. You can also contact a trained crisis counselor through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 800-273-8255 or texting 741741.
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Source: news.google.com