Stopping LGBT propaganda in the libraries

By John Labriola -

Well over a dozen concerned citizens showed up at the Nov. 9 Citrus County Commission meeting to voice their opposition to LGBT propaganda exhibits in the libraries. This issue, which remains unresolved and requires our continued vigilance and attention, first came up this summer when dozens of residents showed up at a commission meeting to complain about the "Gay Pride Month" displays that were set up in the libraries this past June.

A very special thank you to Elaine Kleid, who had the courage to come in front of the commission to set the record straight after a lot of garbage from Library Director Eric Head, who was responsible for this year's LGBT displays and has continued to defend them. Mrs. Kleid, the only conservative on the county's Library Advisory Board, had everyone on the edge of their seats as she described her shock at seeing another library board member physically assault this reporter at a recent library board meeting after a neighbor of mine and I showed up to ask for clarification about future plans for library displays, which Eric Head refused to provide. Mrs. Kleid also discussed how appalled she was when Eric Head sent out an email in which he falsely accused our side of being the aggressor - a lie he shared with county commissioners and the Sheriff's Office. Eric Head must be borrowing a page from the Biden Justice Department and their targeting of conservatives who attend school board meetings as "domestic terrorists." Disturbing. 

Thanks also to Commissioner Ron Kitchen for nominating this reporter to the Library Advisory Board. Unfortunately none of the other commissioners supported the nomination, so I was not appointed, which means the overwhelmingly liberal library board will remain overwhelmingly liberal for now. I hope the lack of support from the rest of the commission doesn't mean they believe having just one conservative on a nine-member advisory board is more than enough in a county like Citrus. 

There also was some unconfirmed talk at the meeting about county administrators drafting language to finally address the issue of library displays in policy form, but no such policy has been finalized, and commissioners would have the last word if they disagree with whatever staff presents. For the record, at their July 13 meeting commissioners stated that they didn't want any more ideological displays of any kind in the libraries. Their statements were very clear and were made on the record and on video, but the rumor is that the policy now being drafted by staff would NOT put an end LGBT displays in the libraries at all, but simply move them from the front entrance to some other part of the library other than the little kids section. That obviously wouldn't comply with what commissioners clearly stated they wanted, so we definitely have to keep our eye on this and hold them to their word.

Keep in mind that no area of the library is off-limits to children. If a middle school student has to write a paper about Shakespeare or the Revolutionary War, he's not going to find what he needs in the Dr. Seuss section. Children have access to and use the entire library, which is OK because libraries aren't synonymous with adult bookstores, or at least they shouldn't be. Conversely, if the Citrus County library system insists on continuing to celebrate homosexuality and transgenderism with propaganda displays throughout the month of June, then at a minimum all other political viewpoints must be granted equal time; otherwise, the library will open itself up to a discrimination lawsuit. October is nationally recognized as Respect Life Month, but we didn't see any pro-life book displays in the libraries last month. Citrus County library patrons were subjected to an entire month of rainbow flags and slogans celebrating same-sex marriage and gender dysphoria this past June. So where were the signs and posters declaring "Abortion Hurts Women" and "Defend the Unborn" in October? There weren't any.

Commissioners have been put on notice that there is a growing movement of citizens around the country as well as here in Citrus who are fed up and fighting back against LGBT tyranny, and elected officials and administrators who choose to ignore this reality are on increasingly shaky ground as Virginia's recent election demonstrated in dramatic fashion. Keep writing your commissioners about this. You can find their emails on the commissioners' webpage.