One of the depictions of homosexuality in the book that angered (rightfully) residents in Jamestown, Michigan
A library in Michigan had books that contained explicitly homosexual content. The people of the town in which was located voted in favor of cutting off state funds for the library. As we read in Bridge Michigan:
What started as a fight over an LGBTQ-themed graphic novel may end with the closure of a west Michigan public library.
Voters in Jamestown Township, a politically conservative community in Ottawa County, rejected renewal Tuesday of a millage that would support the Patmos Library. That vote guts the library’s operating budget in 2023 — 84 percent of the library’s $245,000 budget comes from property taxes collected through a millage.
Without a millage, the library is likely to run out of money sometime late next year, said Larry Walton, library board president.…
Voters on Tuesday rejected the millage renewal by a 25-point margin — 62 percent to 37 percent — on the same day voters approved millages for road improvements and the fire department.
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Earlier this year, a parent raised concerns about the graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” located in the adult graphic novel section. The book tells the story of the author’s coming of age as nonbinary, and includes illustrations of sex acts.
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When the Patmos staff and elected board of directors declined to remove the books from the library’s collection, some upset residents organized an effort to defeat the library’s millage renewal.
The group, called Jamestown Conservatives, passed out flyers at the town’s Memorial Day parade that referenced “Gender Queer: a Memoir,” a Pride Month display at the library and a director who, in the group’s words, “promoted the LGBTQ ideology.”
“Pray that we can make changes and make the Patmos Library a safe and neutral place for our children,” the flyer said.
Yard signs urging residents to vote no on the library millage popped up along Riley Street, Jamestown’s main drag. One sign was directly across the street from the library, and another was conspicuously in the lawn of a library board member. That board member could not be reached for comment.
One resident posted a large, homemade sign that said, “50 percent increase to GROOM our kids? Vote NO on Library!”