But Kirk Cameron and BRAVE Books have issued a brave response in Madison, Alabama, where Cameron was set to appear Saturday with former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines until the Huntsville-Madison County Library abruptly cancelled the event Thursday.
UPDATE (8/4/2023, 5:00 pm Central): The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library says it "has agreed with event coordinators ... to accommodate their planned meeting on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at the Madison Library with a limit of 225 attendees."
Emily Jones, chair of the Madison County chapter of Moms for Liberty (the event coordinator) tells AFN: "We have made slight adjustments to what we were originally planning, so we will have 225 people who will meet at the big auditorium that is at the back of the [Huntsville-Madison County] Library .... The plan is to have the additional people go to a secondary location [currently being arranged] and then Riley and Kirk will be at both locations."
Original story:
The status of the event, planned with the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, is currently unresolved after First Liberty Institute, the nation's largest law firm dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty, contacted the library. In its letter, First Liberty requested a response indicating a reversal of the decision by noon Friday (Central time) and threatened legal action if Cameron's "See You At The Library" event does not proceed as planned.
First Liberty said denial of access for Cameron's group coincided with the library learning the actor-producer and Gaines planned to appear in person. The legal group spelled that out in its letter to the library:
"Until yesterday, you supported the event in Huntsville, AL at every step, including offering a large room at the Madison Public Library branch to accommodate the 250 local residents who plan to attend. However, upon learning that Mr. Cameron and his friend and BRAVE Books author, Riley Gaines, will be attending in person, you abruptly cancelled the event citing 'security concerns' from a potential protest of Mr. Cameron and claiming the event exceeds the library's capacity."
The City of Madison, Alabama issued a statement saying:
"While the initially planned event was suited for the Madison Library's capacity, the scope of attendees quickly grew. The Moms for Liberty group failed to apply for an event permit in advance, and it was determined that City resources cannot support an event of this size on such short notice. Alternative accommodations have been recommended to the organization to ensure a safe and well-attended event."
Emily Jones, the chair of the Madison County chapter of Moms for Liberty, told 1819 News, "The city has not talked to me about anything other than to say, 'move to private property' because of security. I told the Chief we weren't moving, and he said that we couldn't block the street at the library. That's the only communication the city ever provided me."
The latest news is another battle in Cameron's fight to present books of faith and virtue in America's publicly-funded libraries, many of which have hosted Drag Queen Story Hour for years.
The American Library Association this summer welcomed its new president, Emily Drabinski, who describes herself as a Marxist lesbian (see tweet at right).
Cameron told American Family Radio last month that his efforts to secure meeting space for "See You At The Library" have been "denied by over 50 woke libraries that have previously held drag queen story hours."
In fact, the ALA has doubled-down in its efforts to protect the drag queens effort to influence children. The organization says it will remain "instrumental in creating a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive society. This includes a commitment to combating marginalization and underrepresentation within the communities served by libraries through increased understanding of the effects of historical exclusion."
It encourages members to "share your successes and your challenges" with the drag queens on social media and provides tools and resources to help.
"This is open intolerance for religious beliefs. These are good families. This isn't just me. They are conspiring to deny access to people of faith all over the country to go to their own publicly funded community libraries to read books to their kids," Cameron said in a Fox News interview Thursday.
ALA suggests ways for libraries to combat Kirk Cameron
BRAVE Books reported in June it had obtained documentation that the ALA was seeking to prevent or disrupt the public book readings by guiding member libraries in ways they could oppose "See You At The Library." Among the suggestions was to make meeting space unavailable: "The First Amendment does not require the library to even offer meeting room space," an ALA spokesperson can heard saying on a video.
More subtle ways were also suggested, such as limiting meeting space to people who hold a library card, prioritizing the library-sponsored programs, and warning that consequences for not following library policies could include the cancellation of the event.
"We've actually got the ALA trying to deny access to families to their own public libraries, paid for by taxpayer dollars," Cameron said.
Earlier this summer, a seven-member commission that oversees the Montana State Library voted for its libraries to immediately sever ties with the ALA.
The Huntsville-Madison County Library has not responded to AFN's request for comment.
