In a letter to Lisa Aiken, Director of the State Library, and Beverly James, Director of the Greenville Library, SC State House Representative Garry Smith (R-District 27) warned the librarians this week of “over sexualizing our youth at inappropriate age levels.” The letter is a result of the inclusion and allowance of “Drag Queen Story Hour” in the SC Library system, backlash from citizens and potential violation of SC State Law.

In the email letter sent October 7th, Rep. Smith reminded the librarians of their duty in “protecting our youth in our public libraries.” Smith went on to say that sound public policy “protects our youth…”

Smith told this reporter some of the latest ongoing questionable activities are where “libraries gave permission to ‘drag queens’ to talk to 4 and 5 year old’s” inside library locations in the upstate. These libraries are allowing “Drag Queen Story Hour” access to young children despite drag queen “readers” recently being convicted as pedophiles, not once, but multiple drag queens in multiple locations.

Just last week it was reported in King County, Washington, a drag queen performed a strip tease performance in front of children at the library. In another incident Breitbart news reported that children were photographed fondling the drag queen reader at the Multnomah County Library System, in Portland, Oregon, during a Drag Queen Story Hour at St. John’s Library there. “The drag queen was lying on the floor, arms outstretched, as young children buried themselves in his body and fondled him.” The photos were removed following discovery by parents who objected.

Interestingly, the Multnomah library schedule of events indicated the Drag Queen Story Hour’s target audience is “children 2-6 years old with a favorite adult” and is advertised as “kid-friendly drag.” The library brochure stated “The readings will be followed by a craft or dance party.”

Breitbart also reported that Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation organization, observed that the recent national conference of the American Library Association (ALA) provided librarians from across the United States strategies for arranging “Drag Queen Story Hour” and for bringing LGBT agenda materials into public libraries without parents’ knowledge.

Workshops at the ALA conference, included titles such as:

• A Child’s Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries;
• LGBTQ+ Creators and Characters in Kids, Tween, and Teen Comics;
• Reading the Rainbow: Teaching Kids about Pride and LGBTQ+ History;
• Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor’s Right to Privacy in the Library; and
• Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Story Times in Libraries.

Liberty Counsel noted another breakout session of the ALA on how to promote LGBT-themed children’s literature, emphasizing titles such as My Brother’s Husband, Lumberjanes, and Pregnant Butch.

“Taxpayer-funded public libraries have no business promoting sexual perversion, gender confusion and pornography to children,” said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel chairman. “Parents do not want their children exposed to this kind of gutter trash. The American Library Association is now actively grooming innocent children for sexual abuse and causing irreversible harm to them.”

Smith says the Health Education Act “Makes clear it is not appropriate” for young children to be exposed to “drag queens.” In fact, he says, this is “contributing to the delinquency of minors.”

That would put the libraries and “drag queens” potentially in violation of SC state law at SECTION 16-17-490 Contributing to delinquency of a minor.

The Standard spoke with Orangeburg attorney and former US Senatorial candidate Bill Connor, who said that “Blackstone’s Law Commentaries on the Law were the basis of understanding the law in America. He said, Blackstone commented that “unnatural acts” were a violation of natural law, thus a violation of state law. Murder for example is unnatural, thus a violation of the law.” Connor further commented that “opening the libraries to the “drag queens” potentially opens those libraries to liability under SC law.”

SC State House Representative Garry Smith (R-District 27)

Libraries are taxpayer funded and thus act for the use and benefit of the public. Attorney Dan Kleinman, founder of Safe Libraries says, promoting transgenderism is “neither useful nor beneficial for children, quite the opposite, thus it violates the law.” Kleinman was quoted this summer as saying, “already existing law can be used to stop violation of the law in public libraries.” An example of this, Kleinman said, is that “Drag Queen Story Hour is likely illegal… If libraries will not change, municipalities can force them into compliance with the law, and the public need not approve library levies.”

Dr. Michelle Cretella, President of the American College of Pediatricians, has repeatedly said medical professionals are to abide by the motto, “First, do no harm.” Cretella is quoted in Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, in  Summer 2016, saying: “A review of the current literature [on transgenderism] suggests that this protocol is rooted in an unscientific gender ideology, lacks an evidence base, and violates the long-standing ethical principle of ‘First, do no harm.'”

A September article in The Standard revealed that the American Library Association offered training sessions to librarians in a “June 24th workshop on “Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming” and discussed “ways to dismantle barriers” to such programs, including “crafting arguments,” “reviewing legislation,” and “listing talking points.” This was all done in an attempt to “circumvent community objections to “Drag Queen Story Hour” and other taxpayer funded library programs.”

Smith concluded his letter by asking,

“What are you doing to protect our children from age inappropriate over sexualization?”

Representative Smith says “these same libraries have denied access to Christian groups.” The veteran legislator said that “we’ve been told for too long to keep faith and religion at home.” He continued that “Churches and pastors have got to take an active role in communities and politics.”

“The Founders said unanimously that we must have a moral society to control ourselves.” Smith said “our freedom is directly tied to our morality.”

This article was edited 10-10-19

Michael Reed is Editor of The Standard, a pastor, businessman and conference speaker.