In his capacity as a private citizen, the mayor of the town of Athens spoke out against a “pride month” display at the town’s library, eventually leading to the display being taken down.
Athens Mayor Steven Sherlin and Vice Mayor Larry Eaton demanded that the display at the E.G. Fisher Library be taken down at a Tuesday city council, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The display reportedly contained books called “Queer Heroes” and “Ready When You Are.”
The former is a picture book “featuring dynamic full-colour portraits of a diverse selection of 53 inspirational role models accompanied by short biographies that focus on their incredible successes,” while the latter is about two gay Australian teens.
Sherlin (pictured above) said before the meeting that he was speaking as a private citizen, not the mayor or a member of the city council.
“The Athens City Council, nor to my knowledge any council member, contacted any employee of the E.G. Fisher Library or staff member about the display,” he reportedly said. “Any concerns regarding the display from any member of this council were directed through the proper channels in a lawful and ethical manner.”
Sherlin said during the meeting:
Speaking for myself — solely for myself — the display at the E.G. Fisher Library was designed to advance a social agenda that as a professing Christian I believe should not be supported by my tax dollars and certainly should not be advanced toward children. Libraries exist as a source of knowledge, and knowledge requires the free exchange of ideas, not the advancement of one agenda or one religion or one idea over another. We seem to have come to the point in this country where sincere religious beliefs must be subordinated to groupthink and the cult of identity politics.
Eaton spoke later in the meeting.
“I don’t hate anyone, but if you want to call me a bigot for standing up for the kids, then I’m Mr. Bigot,” he reportedly said. “I do not hate anyone in here. This is not something that should have been on display next to the children where they were reading children’s books. This is one of the reasons why I personally stood up. If that is wrong, so be it. I’ll be wrong.”
Michael Coffee, a supporter of the display and member of the McMinn County’s LGBTQ+ Caucus, also spoke, predictably describing calls to remove the display “bigoted.”
“Pulling down the Pride display at the taxpayer-funded library robs young people looking for positive examples of a chance to see themselves represented in their daily life,” he reportedly said. “Seeing a pride flag or seeing examples of queer history and culture allows that young person an opportunity to feel included, valued and important and gives them a sense of belonging.”
Some entities who support “pride month” have faced much harsher blowback than ever before this June.
Those entities include Target, which found itself in hot water after selling LGBT-themed clothing for children, and faced a boycott that caused its stock to plummet. The same happened to Bud Light, which featured biological male Dylan Mulvaney, who claims to be a woman, on its beer cans.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were caught in a public relations nightmare after announcing that they would feature a group of drag queens purporting to be nuns, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” at a “pride night” event. Initially, the baseball team disinvited the fake nuns after backlash from conservatives, but re-invited them after more backlash from the LGBT community.
Just this week, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that its players will no longer wear “pride” themed jerseys during the month of June after the league faced backlash from fans for going woke.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Background Photo “E.G. Fisher Library Sign” by E.G. Fisher Library.Â
