City officials in St. Marys are still looking at ways to reshape the county’s public library after voting under public pressure to extend the library’s lease for a year.
The Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library’s lease is safe for another year, following community uproar and legal pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has advised St. Marys city commissioners to renew the imperiled lease of their local public library, saying the officials are violating the Constitution in a “dangerous exercise of power.”
Alex Gino wanted to write a book that reflected transgender youths’ experiences, the sort of book they wished they’d had when they were young. It took them 12 years to write the book, which went on to receive several literary awards.
Following public outcry about censorship, the St. Marys City Commission decided to table a vote on renewing the Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library’s lease.
The St. Marys city council is debating whether to renew the library’s lease with the city following the library’s refusal to accept a lease clause asking it to remove all material that could be viewed as socially, racially or sexually divisive, including all LGBTQ content.
