After months of court cases by St. Charles, upset by a rumor that a librarian was wearing plaid clothes, the county council on Monday approved a solution that rebukes the library and seeks to restrict employees’ online political speech.
Denounced as a scare tactic by critics, the move was hailed by those who said Monday that the library’s policies were part of a “battle” to safeguard its interests.
“These battles used to be fought on the battlefield, but now they are with you,” said Dianne Dodge. Dold, on the board. ” This is just the beginning of many disorders that will arise. “
Ken Gontarz, resident and founder of the conservative political action committee Francis Howell Families, said that “our country’s real war between conservative and progressive ideas” took place in the library.
He cited burning issues such as transgender athletes, “pronoun use,” “transgender issues” and “police funding” as components of the fight.
The comments came here after St. Charles unanimously approved a solution with recommendations for the St. Charles County Library.
The solution calls for the library to remove “political agendas” from its spending, prevent board members from posting political messages online, quit its club on the Urban Library Board, its dress code, and open its doors on Sundays.
“What we’re asking is to be apolitical, apolitical, to teach kids to read books and get dressed when they’re at work,” Councilman Joe Brasil said in delivering the resolution.
He said the solution “had nothing to do with any specific individual. “
In May, network members piled up in front of the library, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after a mother saw a worker wearing goatee, makeup, nail polish and earrings. He asked others to send messages to the library. Executive Director of the St. County Library. Charles, Jason Kuhl and citizens made comments at city and county council meetings.
The noise reached Chris Barrett, leader of the Missouri activist organization Gays Against Groomers, who spoke at a city hall meeting in July and called the library employee’s resolution to wear makeup “sexualization and indoctrination of children. “
“A man dressed and made up for women is surely suitable for a position intended to serve the general public,” Barrett said at the time.
Rachel Homolak, who filed the initial complaint about the goatee-clad and makeup-clad employee, made a public comment at the June 12 county council assembly dressed in what she called a “replica” of the employee’s attire.
She dressed in a green corset, fishnet stockings and heels.
“This is not appropriate in public, much less in the children’s segment of the public library,” he said.
Kuhl told the Post-Dispatch that the library requires “dressing appropriately for the workplace. “
St. Charles County resident Amy Robertson told Monday’s assembly that the librarian’s description has become more provocative over time.
“Every time the librarian’s story is told, it gets bigger and bigger and more decorated until there is a crowd of villagers with the proverbial pitchforks and flames aimed directly at the library and the library administrators,” she said, dressed in a blouse. which represented “villagers”.
Another commentator said the tale had “three times. “
“The solution is priceless legal and totally unenforceable, but what it does is give space to those who would find fault with others and look for a platform to belittle and intimidate without any consequences,” Robertson said. “It’s going to keep falling like this again and again, unless those of us who know get up and do something. “
The solution asks Kuhl to delete a post from his LinkedIn profile that he shared. The post, written through Kuhl, includes a Fast Company article describing a legislative attack on libraries.
The message quoted the article: “By targeting public libraries, Republicans and other far-right teams have not only introduced an attack on the principles of free speech, diversity, inclusion and knowledge, but have also directly attacked libraries. The staff itself. . “
The provincial council’s solution calls the message “inflammatory and politically charged” and adds: “We do not believe that what is described in the message will end up in our libraries. “
Republican-led Missouri lawmakers proposed and approved limitations on libraries in recent legislative sessions.
In 2022, the General Assembly passed a bill accusing librarians of offering “sexually particular material” to children. The ACLU of Missouri, which filed a lawsuit opposing the legislation, said it prompted librarians to remove “hundreds of titles from library shelves. “
This year, the Missouri House Budget Committee proposed cutting public investment for libraries by $4. 5 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee restored the funds.
Secretary of State John “Jay” Ashcroft, a candidate for governor, has introduced a rule requiring parental permission for young people to access books. The Missouri Library Association said in a statement that the rule has created “massive confusion” and some libraries have thought about reissuing it. Cards for all members under the age of 18 to ensure parental consent.
The solution also calls on the library to build its access to the public, such as opening on Sundays “given that the library has already lost the purpose in its project to serve the network in many ways, adding prolonged closures during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, and the library’s inability to voluntarily reduce its tax rate so as not to recover the providence caused by taxes on abnormally high assets,” Says.
Kuhl did not respond to a request for comment.
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by Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent August 15, 2023
After months of court cases by St. Charles, upset by a rumor that a librarian was wearing plaid clothes, the county council on Monday approved a solution that rebukes the library and seeks to restrict employees’ online political speech.
Denounced as a scare tactic by critics, the move was hailed by those who said Monday that the library’s policies were part of a “battle” to safeguard its interests.
“These battles used to be fought on the battlefield, but now they are with you,” said Dianne Dodge. Dold, on the board. ” This is just the beginning of many disorders that will arise. “
Ken Gontarz, resident and founder of the conservative political action committee Francis Howell Families, said that “our country’s real war between conservative and progressive ideas” took place in the library.
He cited burning issues such as transgender athletes, “pronoun use,” “transgender issues” and “police funding” as components of the fight.
The comments came here after St. Charles unanimously approved a solution with recommendations for the St. Charles County Library.
The solution calls for the library to remove “political agendas” from its spending, prevent board members from posting political messages online, quit its club on the Urban Library Board, its dress code, and open its doors on Sundays.
“What we’re asking is to be apolitical, apolitical, teach kids to read books and get dressed when they’re at work,” Councilman Joe Brazil said in delivering the resolution.
He said the solution “had nothing to do with any specific individual. “
In May, network members piled up in front of the library, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after a mother saw a worker wearing goatee, makeup, nail polish and earrings. He asked others to send messages to the library. Executive Director of the St. County Library. Charles, Jason Kuhl and citizens made comments at city and county council meetings.
The noise reached Chris Barrett, leader of the Missouri activist organization Gays Against Groomers, who spoke at a city hall meeting in July and called the library employee’s resolution to wear makeup “sexualization and indoctrination of children. “
“A man dressed and made up for women is surely suitable in a position intended to serve the general public,” Barrett said at the time.
Rachel Homolak, who filed the initial complaint about the goatee-clad and makeup-clad employee, made a public comment at the June 12 county council assembly dressed in what she called a “replica” of the employee’s attire.
She dressed in a green corset, fishnet stockings and heels.
“This is not appropriate in public, much less in the children’s segment of the public library,” he said.
Kuhl told the Post-Dispatch that the library requires “dressing appropriately for the workplace. “
St. Charles County resident Amy Robertson told Monday’s assembly that the librarian’s description has become more provocative over time.
“Every time the librarian’s story is told, it gets bigger and bigger and more decorated until there is a crowd of villagers with the proverbial pitchforks and flames aimed directly at the library and the library administrators,” she said, dressed in a blouse. which represented “villagers”.
Another commentator said the tale had “three times. “
“The solution is priceless legal and totally unenforceable, but what it does is give space to those who would find fault with others and look for a platform to belittle and intimidate without any consequences,” Robertson said. “It’s going to keep falling like this again and again, unless those of us who know get up and do something. “
The solution asks Kuhl to delete a post from his LinkedIn profile that he shared. The post, written through Kuhl, includes a Fast Company article describing a legislative attack on libraries.
The message quoted the article: “By attacking public libraries, Republicans and other far-right teams have not only introduced an attack on the principles of free speech, diversity, inclusion, and knowledge, but have also directly attacked libraries.
The provincial council’s solution calls the message “inflammatory and politically charged” and adds: “We do not believe that what is described in the message will end up in our libraries. “
Missouri lawmakers, with a Republican majority, have proposed and passed limitations on libraries in recent legislative sessions.
In 2022, the General Assembly passed a bill accusing librarians of offering “sexually particular material” to children. The ACLU of Missouri, which filed a lawsuit opposing the legislation, said it prompted librarians to remove “hundreds of titles from library shelves. “
This year, the Missouri House Budget Committee proposed cutting state investment for libraries by $4. 5 million. The Senate Supply Committee reinstated the funds.
Secretary of State John “Jay” Ashcroft, a candidate for governor, has introduced a rule requiring parental permission for young people to access books. The Missouri Library Association said in a statement that the rule has created “massive confusion” and some libraries have thought about reissuing it. Cards for all members under the age of 18 to ensure parental consent.
The solution also calls on the library to increase its access to the public, such as opening on Sundays “given that the library no longer fulfilled the purpose of its project to serve the network in many ways, adding prolonged closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. “pandemic emergency, and the library’s inability to voluntarily reduce its tax rate so as not to recover the providence caused by abnormally high asset taxes,” he says.
Kuhl did not respond to a request for comment.
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Missouri Independent is owned by States Newsroom, a network of grant-funded news bureaus and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity (3). Missouri Independent maintains its editorial independence. Please contact editor Jason Hancock if you have any questions: info@missouriindependent. com. Follow the Missouri Independent on Facebook and Twitter.
Annelise Hanshaw writes about schooling, a field she covered on the West and East coasts while running for newspapers in Santa Barbara, California, and Greenwich, Connecticut. Born and raised in Missouri, she is proud to be back in her home state.
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