What started with three counties has now taken over the entire state of Florida. The Florida Department of State recently announced that it was severing ties with the left-wing American Library Association, which in recent months has criticized states and local governments for removing library books with pornographic or pro-LGBTQ content.
According to Politico, Florida’s cultural guardians issued a rule in October that prohibited “grant project activities” associated with the ALA and its affiliates, including state chapters.
Florida joined Alabama, Wyoming, Missouri and Texas in cutting loose the ALA. Montana also ended its relationship with the organization last month, the Tampa Free Press has reported.
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Meanwhile, Politico reported on Tuesday that GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina are advocating similar initiatives.
But as the Free Press reported last month, the push in Florida began in the counties.
Collier, Citrus, and Hernando counties have dumped the ALA over its support for providing provocative LGBTQ materials and supporting Drag Queen Story Hours for children under 18.
“The juice may not be worth the squeeze,” Collier County Commission Chairman Rick LoCastro said last month when asked about his board’s decision.
“I mean the $1,600 [annual payment to the ALA] may not be getting us a lot. But it’s causing concerns with some people, parents, and elected officials. And commissioners may have an issue with that.”
The ALA has criticized parents and conservative lawmakers for wanting to “ban” or “censor” books — even though nothing stopped parents who wanted to provide their children radical sexualized materials from purchasing them from private retailers, like bookstores or Amazon.
Earlier this year, the ALA issued its Library Bill of Rights that stated the organization “opposes all attempts to restrict access to library services, materials, and facilities based on the age of library users.” In other words, it supported allowing minors access to sexually explicit materials.
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Yet it did not help the ALA’s cause in red states that its new president proudly proclaimed her leftist politics upon getting the job.
“I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary,” Emily Drabinski wrote on X (formerly Twitter) when elected in April 2022. “I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD. I love you mom.”
This past July, Montana became the first state to sever its ties with the ALA because state officials wanted to stop their “association with a Marxist organization.”
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