Booksology This week, four small library patrons and their parents filed a lawsuit against Greenville County to systematically target the library’s LGBTQ+ literature. The plaintiffs are supported by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU, as well as the South Carolina ACLU.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina focuses on county policies and how they intentionally led to the removal or limitation of LGBTQ+ materials. By encouraging such censorship, the county violates the plaintiff’s 1 and 14th amendment rights.
“Greenville County cannot censor public libraries simply because it considers them politically, moral or religiously undesirable,” said Allen Cheney, legal director for the ACLU in South Carolina. “After years of public defense of these discriminatory actions, we now have to resort to courts to prove a simple truth: the constitution protects everyoneincluding LGBTQ people. ”
In the lawsuit, several specific titles were named in the lawsuit as the book was intentionally removed from the boys’ shelves for LGBTQ+ content. It’s in it Spells for Hocus, Pocus and House ar capetta, The Kingdom of Cardboard By Chad Cell Freedom of horse riding Pam Munoz Ryan, and Snapdragon By Kat Leyh. Although all of this is written for younger readers, Greenville’s policy involves “suppose, portray, or discuss the appearance of minor gender in a way that contradicts the biological sex of minors” or celebrating, portraying, portraying, or endorsing the general.
The Kingdom of Cardboardfor example, it has been moved from the boy’s shelf to a new location and is reclassified as “boy parenting.” Similar titles without queer expressions etc. Narwal and JellyIt can be used on the boy’s shelf.
Relocation of LGBTQ+ materials is not limited to trans and gender non-conforming content. Simon vs. Homo Sapiens agendawritten for teens and features gay protagonists, and is not available in the teens section of Greenville Library. It has been catalogued and shelved in adult fiction.
Such limitations are an additional barrier to access, especially given that the Greenville Library system can select the level of access to children’s materials via already leveled library cards.
“For many years, the Library Board has been trying to censor access to patrons’ diverse stories,” said Stephen Schellard, co-founder of Libraries’ Advocacy Group (FLAG). community. “
The new lawsuit adds to an increase in the number of people being filed against public libraries and public schools around the country due to policies that led to the ban on books. The ban on these books has had a major impact on material by people of color and LGBTQ+ people, or by LGBTQ+ people.
In Greenville, there was no doubt that such policies targeting queer-themed books were blatant and intentional.
“The book is one of our greatest tools to learn about others, the world around us, and more importantly, ourselves through expression,” said Greg Rogers, one of the parents who are filing the lawsuit. “Every child and young adults need equal access to these tools. Preventing even one child from accessing the expression they offer is a tragedy for equality for all children.”
The lawsuit focuses specifically on Greenville’s public library system, but Greenville public schools have also been banned and censored. In 2024, the district deleted several books despite recommendations from the Review Board. The district has also subsequently suspended the book fair over concerns that materials available for purchase at these events will not meet district policies related to “appropriate” materials.
