Jonesboro Library Fails to Respect Parental Rights, Child Welfare with Pro-LGBT Display

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A page from one of the many pro-LGBT books the Jonesboro Public Library reportedly placed on display in its children’s library in June.

In June the Jonesboro Public Library made headlines after placing a large selection of pro-LGBT material in its children’s library area.

The books included titles like The GayBCs and My Two Moms. The library also displayed a pro-LGBT flyer about the gay pride flag.

One mother noted that the picture books showed very young children identifying with different sexual-orientations. The publishers’ age range for these books reportedly was as young as four years old.

In August the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library Board met to discuss the display.

Proposals reportedly were offered to move pro-LGBT material to a different part of the library — away from the children’s area — and to give the library board oversight when it comes to special displays. However, those good proposals failed to pass.

One of the flyers reportedly displayed in the Jonesboro Public Library.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time children have been targeted with pro-LGBT material.

For example, in June popular children’s cartoon “Blue’s Clues” released a video of an animated gay pride parade on YouTube.

And around the country different libraries have hosted “Drag Queen Story Times” geared toward children. These events are not about getting children to read or play together. They’re about promoting homosexual and transgender ideology to little kids.

There are several problems with pro-LGBT displays like the one in Jonesboro’s children’s library, but here are two key issues:

First, the display fails to respect parental rights.

Parents have a right to talk to their children about sex and gender. By placing this sort of material front-and-center where children can’t help seeing it as they walk into the library, the library is interfering with a conversation that parents ought to be able to have with their children.

Second, the material fails to respect child welfare.

As one Jonesboro mother noted, it’s simply inappropriate to encourage young children to question their gender-identity or to consider same-sex attraction. These books should not be sitting out where a child could easily grab them off a shelf without a parent realizing it.

Families should be able to walk into a public library without worrying about the books that might be on display in the children’s area. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case in Jonesboro and in many of our other libraries.

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Business Interests File Brief Opposing Protections for Children in Arkansas

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On Friday six business organizations filed an amicus brief opposing Arkansas’ Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act in federal court.

The business interests are:

  • LiveRamp Holdings
  • Acxiom
  • Kinesso
  • The Northwest Arkansas Council
  • The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce
  • The Walton Family Foundation

The SAFE Act is a 2021 law that protects children in Arkansas from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

It’s a very good law that passed with strong support from the Arkansas Legislature.

Researchers do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids. That is why many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children is experimental, at best.

That’s also why a major hospital in Sweden announced earlier this year that it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

However, the ACLU and others filed a lawsuit to block the State of Arkansas from enforcing the SAFE Act, and now half a dozen business interests have decided to oppose the law as well.

It’s unfortunate that these business interests oppose a law that protects children from sex-reassignment procedures, but it isn’t entirely surprising either.

During the 2021 legislative session the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Walmart opposed legislation protecting healthcare workers’ rights of conscience. Walmart’s CEO even wrote a letter to Governor Hutchinson expressing his opposition to that legislation.

In April the Walton Family Foundation issued statements criticizing the SAFE Act.

And in June the Walton Family Foundation announced plans to award $1 million in grant money to pro-LGBT groups in Arkansas. The money could go to groups like Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, and others.

Unfortunately this amicus brief against the SAFE Act seems to be another example of the State Chamber of Commerce, the Walton family, and other business interests pushing a radically progressive agenda in Arkansas. However, the Arkansas Attorney General’s office is fighting back, and we believe that federal courts will uphold this good law that protects children.

You can read the amicus brief against the SAFE Act here.

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