GOP officials target LGBTQ+ displays in Largo, Palm Harbor library
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This display of LGBTQ+ children's book authors is no longer in the Palm Harbor Library's children's room after an objection from Pinellas Commissioner Vince Nowicki. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
Two Republican elected officials are pressing local libraries to remove LGBTQ+ displays from their youth areas.
Why it matters: The libraries in Palm Harbor and Largo are the latest institutions to face GOP pushback over their attempts to support LGBTQ+ children and teenagers.
State of play: Pinellas Commissioner Vince Nowicki has drafted a resolution that would ban materials that depict, refer to or promote sexual identity in the Palm Harbor Library's children's room.
- That includes but isn't limited to posters, artwork, pamphlets and brochures as well as oral presentations and storytelling events, per a draft resolution he shared with Axios.
- It's the second time in two years that a Palm Harbor Library display supporting the LGBTQ+ community has drawn ire from GOP county commissioners.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Berny Jacques, R-Seminole, threatened to withhold state funding from the city of Largo if officials didn't remove similar materials at the Largo Public Library, according to a letter he sent to Mayor Woody Brown and shared on social media.
- "Parents have the sole right and responsibility to educate their children on these sensitive topics," Jacques wrote.
Zoom in: The materials at the Palm Harbor Library that Nowicki objected to include a display of children's book authors who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, a Lego "Everyone Is Awesome" set and a brochure with lists of LGBTQ+ books by category, plus a QR code that links to local and national resources, according to photos he shared with Axios.
- Nowicki emphasized his resolution wouldn't ban any books. It also wouldn't prohibit LGBTQ+ materials in a separate library space dedicated to teenagers, he said. The children's room serves patrons up to age 12 and their parents.
- "My resolution would simply prohibit the promotion of sexual identity via displays and pamphlets in the children's section," he said, adding that parents should decide when to bring up that topic.
- Nowicki saw the materials while on a recent tour of the library, at the invitation of library leadership.
The other side: Staff have since removed the items "in an abundance of caution," library director Matthew David said Monday.
- Prior to Nowicki raising the issue, staff hadn't received complaints about the materials, which had been on display for less than a year, David said.
- In fact, he said the library compiled the brochure that listed LGBTQ+ books because multiple patrons requested such a resource. "It's all in response to what the public is asking for," David said.
An Axios reporter's walk through the Largo Public Library's children's wing on Monday included just one item that Jacques shared on X as evidence for his letter: a brochure titled "LGBTQIA+ Picture Books."
- The Progress Pride flag Jacques shared a photo of was in the library's teen room, which is designated for ages 13 and up. (Jacques didn't return a call and text from an Axios reporter asking for more information.)
- Mayor Woody Brown told Axios that teens who frequented the library put up the flag themselves.
What they're saying: Materials dealing with sexual identity shouldn't be accessible to kids without their parents, Brown said, "but that's just not the case in our library."
- "We serve a lot of people and all kinds of different people," he said, "and I don't see a problem with what we have in our library right now."