Homophobic Mayor tried to Withhold over 100,000 dollars from a library
Mayor Gene McGee is withholding 110,000 dollars from the Madison County Library because of his religious beliefs.
Gene McGee is the mayor of Ridgeland, Mississippi, since 1989. McGee is currently withholding library funds until they meet his demands with his religious beliefs. He has demanded that the library get rid of books that align with supporting LGBT books before his office releases the funds.
The executive director for the Madison County Library told Mississippi free press that she first reached out to McGee after failing to receive the first quarterly payment of 2022. The mayor then informed her that no payment would come through, then explained his opposition to “homosexual materials” in the library went against his Christian beliefs. He said that they would not release the funds as long as the books were there.
The executive director Tonja Johnson then said the books represented the diverse community, but the mayor shot back to say that the library can serve whoever it wanted, but he only serves god.
The board voted unanimously to bring the conflict to the board of alderman before delving deeper into legalities. In the meeting, attenders ask Bob Sanders who is the counsel for the library board if the mayor had the authority to override the library contract and decision of the alderman but Sanders blatantly said no.
McGee’s demands are on mostly books that involve homosexual identities and stories. The mayor specifically demanded the removal of “The Queer Bible” as a homophobic take on activism mainly focused on children’s books.
McGee then claimed that he was withholding funds because of citizen complaints, then declines to address the content of the books at the next board meeting. He acknowledged that the board of alderman had approved the library’s budget for the year but argued that the contract was out dated since they signed it in 2009. When asked if he possessed the authority to withhold the funds, he responded, “That’s a legal question. I don’t know if I do or not..”.
The 110,000 dollars represents about 5% percent of the annual budget of the entire library system. Johnson said, “… There’s a potential for staff members to lose their positions if the board can’t move funding..”.
The ACLU called for Ridgeland Mayor’s attempted book ban unconstitutional. They argued libraries should function as places of learning and exploration that are free of censorship which goes against the first amendment.
The board of Alderman scheduled to meet on February 15, 2022, but was joined by an anti-LGBT hate group and anti-censorship furry group that raised over 110,000 dollars on a crowdfunding website and Authors of the books that would have had their books taken down. Furries are extreme fans of anthropomorphized animals who are frequently associated with the LGBT community.
After the meeting, they explained that there would be no barriers anymore to the payments and it will arrive after February 21st.
Sources: MS Free Press source , ACLU source, MS Free Press Source , Crowd Sourcing Website Source
