Heartstopper Books Accused Of Promoting LGBTQ+ Ideology In Library Defunding Campaign
Two volumes of the Heartstopper graphic novel series are among the LGBTQ+ books that got a local Michigan library defunded.
The effort to defund the Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, Michigan, has been led by a group called Jamestown Conservatives who, this summer, objected to the library’s Pride Month display saying it “promoted the LGBTQ ideology."
Dozens of residents have attended library board meetings since this spring, demanding the removal of LGBTQ+ books including Cathy G. Johnson’s The Breakaways, Kiss Number 8 by Colleen A. F. Venable and illustrated by Ellen T. Crenshaw, and two books from Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series, which were turned into a recent Netflix show.
According to LGBTQ Nation, the campaign against the library led to the now-typical accusations of “grooming,” as well as alleged harassment of employees, both online and in person, and to the resignation of library director Amber McLain. “These books and lifestyle choices are destructive and wrong,” one Jamestown resident during September’s library board meeting.
Board treasurer Deb Fridsma was visibly frustrated at the meeting. “I appreciate passion. I do,” she said. “But it is a slippery slope. You cherish your freedom, but what you’re doing now is taking other people’s freedoms away.”
The property tax provides 84% of the library’s $245,000 annual budget. It will be on the ballot again in November’s general election, giving voters one last chance to fund the library.
Read related myGwork articles here:
Novelist Donates $50k To Library Defunded Over Books With LGBTQ+ Content
Michigan Town Raises $100,000 For Library Which Lost Funding Over LGBTQ+ Books
Town Votes To Defund Library After Claims It Was “Grooming” Kids
Library Removes Gay Book After Conservative Christians’ Complaints
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