Earlier this week, the Rutherford County Library board voted 5-3 to “remove material that promotes, encourages, advocates for or normalizes transgenderism or ‘gender confusion’ in minors.” Cody York, who introduced the measure, said that he did so because the board had an obligation to protect children. Amen! Over 100 people attended the two-hour meeting at the Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro. Those opposing the resolution shouted that the board members who voted in favor of it were “Nazis,” just for protecting children from radical ideology. We say to the board, “Thank you!”
 
“Books that promote transgender ideology are harmful to children,” York shared. “The state and federal government have determined that these are harmful practices,” he said, pointing to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order that the federal government would not promote transgender procedures on kids.
 
This resolution is not about “banning books” or censoring free speech – it’s about ensuring that taxpayer dollars do not fund the radical LGBT agenda that promotes harmful concepts to children.
 
Many of the transgender books available in the children’s and young adults’ section include graphic sexual content, which minors should never be exposed to. Two prime examples of that are the books “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, both of which can now be removed from Rutherford County libraries for containing illustrations depicting explicit nudity and sexual activities (email us at info@FACTn.org if you want the link to the content).
 
Ten members of the community were allowed to speak for three minutes each prior to the board voting on the resolution. A woman named Michelle urged the board to pass the measure, stating, “If we cause children to go down this road, they can make decisions they will regret for the rest of their lives. When we expose them to things that they don’t have a level to understand, it’s really sexualizing them. Children, they don’t have a capacity for this. If we say we love them, if we say that ‘you are loved,’ ‘we loved you,’ we should want to tell that person the truth. Love is truth.”
 
Children are impressionable. Introducing them to radical transgender ideology at a young age will undoubtedly impact their worldview and understanding of gender and sexuality, causing needless confusion and potential mental health issues. When government does this, it is violating the God-given rights of parents to protect their children.
 
Rather than acknowledging that gender dysphoria is a regrettable mental health condition that makes life more difficult, the left is insistent on promoting the concept to healthy young children, encouraging them to pursue a path of confusion and sexual deviance. Our taxpayer-funded libraries should not be complicit in promoting such an ill-guided view.
 
Issues like this one illustrate the pressing need for Christians to engage in the public square and bring light to the darkness in our communities. This encouraging win was possible because Rutherford County residents dared to speak up against a moral wrong taking place in their community. Children will be protected from countless degenerate books at public libraries thanks to their initiative.
 
“If we, as the American Church, fail to influence culture and politics, we are forfeiting our God-given assignment to be a light in our own country and the world,” Pastor Allen Jackson of Murfreesboro’s World Outreach Church wrote. “The truth brings the light. When we hide the truth in the name of tolerance, we are allowing the darkness to intensify. Will you be a person of truth? Will you follow Jesus?”
 
Seems that members of the Rutherford County community are heeding his call. Spread the word…