Following the cancellation of a Kirk Cameron book reading event in Huntsville Alabama’s Madison Public Library, people were enraged. An Alabama library declined Kirk Cameron and his publisher, Brave Books from going through with their planned nationwide reading event, “See You at the Library”. However, after citizen backlash and a threat of a lawsuit from the publisher, the library eventually reinstated the event which is scheduled for August 5, 2023. It is worth noting that Riley Gaines is also a speaker at the event.
The Alabama Library stated that they canceled the event due to concerns of security and logistics as the event would be attended by a large number of people. However, those in support of the event claimed that the motive for the event’s initial cancellation was related to its conservative Christian nature. Kirkwood has written two books As You Grow (Freedom Island) and Pride Comes Before the Fall (Freedom Island) for children.
The Madison Public Library in Huntsville, Alabama initially canned Kirk Cameron and Brave Books’ event, just two days before it was scheduled to take place. The library stated that a lack of accommodation was the reason for the event’s cancellation.
However, event organizers, Moms for Liberty, and Brave Books had a different take on the events. Brave Books directly challenged the cancellation of the event. First Liberty Institute, Brave Books’ and Cameron Kirk’s law firm representative, wrote a letter to the library system director alleging religious discrimination.
“We write to inform you that, should you persist in the cancellation of this event, you will have engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional religious viewpoint and content discrimination in violation of the Alabama Constitution and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the letter read.
The letter requested the library system to respond by Friday, August 4, 2023, confirming that the event was slated for the next day. It said that if the library refused to do so, the firm was ready to vindicate the violation of their client’s rights in court. Following the backlash and legal threat, the library reversed its decision allowing the event to go forward.
“Why would a library committed to diversity and inclusion, exclude me from reading my book?”: Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron’s books were received with open arms by conservative Christian families across the country. Kirk Cameron has written two books geared toward children, As You Grow (Freedom Island) and Pride Comes Before the Fall (Freedom Island).
According to its Amazon synopsis, As You Grow teaches the Biblical truths of the Fruit of the Spirit, and Pride Comes Before the Fall discussed humility. Both books told their story with the help of illustrated anthropomorphic animals.
Kirk Cameron’s As You Grow was released in December 2022 (Image via Amazon)
The contents of the book were enjoyed by some but criticized by others. When Cameron reached out to different libraries for his “See You at the Library” event, he reportedly faced astute rejection.
In an interview with CBN News, Kirk Cameron claimed that his book As You Grow was about Biblical wisdom. He added that it was about teaching kids how to grow “the fruit of the spirit” which included love, joy, and kindness.
“You’d think that public libraries would be thrilled for a book to teach these virtues to children and we were denied by over fifty woke libraries that have hosted drag queen story hours,” Cameron stated.
Cameron claims to have been denied by an Indiana library that was hosting a gender name change clinic the next day. He said that a few other libraries also denied him claiming that his message didn’t align with their queer-friendly nature.
“Why would a library committed to diversity and inclusion, exclude me from reading my book?” he wondered.
He added that his book doesn’t have the words “God” or “Bible” or even a verse from the Bible. He noted the book merely taught the virtues that “are universally valued. Cameron also went on to say that he believes that drag queens would love his book if they read them.
Kirk Cameron’s Pride Comes Before the Fall was released in June 2023 (Image via Amazon)
Kirk Cameron’s publishers Brave Books are known for their conservative Christian outlook. The publishing house claims to be an “alternative to the current progressive agenda dominating children’s literature”.
“We founded Brave Books because while we were trying to raise our children to love their God and country, we became more and more aware that there is a real war being waged for the hearts and minds of the next generation,” their website reads.
The website adds that there is an “agenda to confuse and demoralize” the children and make them hate their country along with the values that it was founded upon.
The library system pointed to exceeding attendance as the reason to cancel the event
The library system stated in a Wednesday press release that the cancellation of the event organized by Moms for Liberty was due to problems with excessive attendance. The press release claimed:
“Due to the event’s anticipated attendance increasing beyond the Library’s capacity, the Library will be unable to host the event.”
The library added that the initial number of attendees reported to them by the organizers was 20. However, they learned on Tuesday that the organizers were expecting more than 300 people to attend the event. According to the library system, this number far exceeded “any” meeting room capacity within the Huntsville Madison County Library System.
Excited to have Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel Church join me at my upcoming BRAVE Books story hour in Loudoun County, Virginia!
We will be at Gum Spring Library praying together, worshiping together, and of course, reading my new book Pride Comes Before the Fall.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/bms0V91gPt
The press release said that the library had looked at options to make the event “logistically possible” after consulting the Madison City police, Fire Marshal, and even the city officials. It added that after they had a discussion about these logistics with the library and the event organizer, the police and Fire Marshal recommended that the event should be held “at an alternate location.”
The library system also pointed out the failure of the Moms for Liberty organization to apply for an event permit in advance. The library claimed to have recommended alternate venues to the organizer where the event could be held safely.
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