‘Queer Bible’ hearing Thursday night at City Hall

‘Queer Bible’ hearing Thursday night at City Hall

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RIDGELAND —  A dispute over the ongoing “Queer Bible” display in the public library here and an expired funding contract is expected to be resolved at a meeting Thursday night at City Hall, officials have said.

The meeting, a continuation of last week’s regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, is set for 6:30 p.m. in the board room at Ridgeland City Hall and involves about $110,000 in annual funding.

Mayor Gene F. McGee called for a recess of the meeting last week to give officials ample time to review a proposed contract between the city and the Madison County Library System that expired a decade and half ago.

McGee said at the time of the recess that it appeared that there was an acceptable contract but noted that it needed further scrutiny from the board and city attorneys.

At the meeting, aldermen did approve a resolution in the ongoing dispute clarifying they are not for banning books after allegations by political activists that they were.

“Be it, therefore resolved, that the governing authorities find and again declare that the City of Ridgeland has not and will not withhold any appropriated funds based on the content of any book now in the collection of the Ridgeland Library,” The statement reads in part. “The reason that funds have been withheld relates to legal and contractual issues.” 

One of the books in the displays that has drawn criticism is a collection of essays edited by Jack Guinness called “The Queer Bible.”

Another is “As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy after I Transitioned” by Paula Stone Williams. The description on Amazon says that the book is a memoir of a transgender pastor’s transition from male to female.

The books were displayed prominently on a table in the Ridgeland Public Library. Citizens with children who had seen the display contacted McGee about the overt political nature.

Other titles include “Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story” by Julie Rodgers, “the Name I Call Myself” by Hasan Namir and “People of Pride: 25 Great LGBTQ Americans” by Chase Clemesha.

The issue arose in January when McGee received the complaints objecting to the public display of books that citizens have said were making a political statement with a pro-LBGT+ agenda.

Cal Wells, an attorney from Jackson, said in February that he was one of the people who saw the display and brought it to the mayor’s attention.

Wells said then that the issue is not about censorship. 

“It is about a group of library employees promoting a lifestyle which some of us have chosen not to accept and for pushing it on kids at an age where they are way too young to understand the ramifications of their decisions,” he told the Journal the morning following a hearing at City Hall where he spoke.

Wells had said during that meeting that it was clear to him the display of books had “one agenda.” 

“It was not balanced it was designed to put something in front of people,” Wells said.

He went on to say that the spotlight should not be on the mayor and board but on the officials who run the library and the books on display.

Amid the controversy, McGee discovered that the contract between the library system and the city expired in 2009. 

McGee has said that the city is holding its budgeted contribution of $110,000 to the library until a new agreement is reached and approved by the city and library boards as well as the county Board of Supervisors. 

The municipal funds do not have a due date and McGee said that to his knowledge the city’s contribution has never been paid in one lump sum.

In addition to their yearly contribution to the library system, the city also owns the building the library is housed in and maintains the property as well.

In the meantime, Friends of The Ridgeland Library raised more than the $110,000 online. 

President Teresa Gerald and treasurer Jane Bond presented a check for $55,000 to Madison County Library Director Tonja Johnson earlier this month.

Gerald said that the check represents two payments the city has missed for the first and second quarter of the fiscal year. She said that if no money is paid by the city, they are prepared to cut another check for the third quarter as early as April.

The check came from the online fundraiser that raised $112,771.20 for the Ridgeland Library at fundlibraries.org.

The fundraising has been pushed by an activist community known as the “furries.”

The website LGBTQ Nation says: “While the furries are mostly known for dressing up in full-body costumes of furry animals, they’re also known for being pro-LGBTQ and opposing hate and bigotry in their communities.” 

Johnson said that they will not be able to return the money already dispersed to the MCLS but that any extra money will go towards materials, programs and projects at the Ridgeland Library if an agreement with the city is reached.

Gerald said that any remaining funds in their account from the fundraiser would be used in a similar fashion.

Gerald and others have also been critical of the city’s response and centered on McGee accusing him of asking that certain books be removed because of his Christian faith.

“Whereas, there has been significant false information spread throughout the community and beyond regarding the position of the City of Ridgeland regarding the funding of the Ridgeland Library,” the statement begins. 

It goes on to say, “Whereas, the City of Ridgeland has not ever sought to impose any religious or other test on materials in the Ridgeland Library, and

Whereas, City of Ridgeland has not approved the funding heretofore because of contractual and legal issues which are totally unrelated to the content of any book or other material in the collection of the Ridgeland Library.”






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