The director of a small-town library in Michigan is facing a felony charge for refusing to remove an LGBTQ-themed book from the shelves. Amy Churchill, the director of the Lapeer District Library, is being targeted by County Prosecutor John Miller, who claims that the book, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, is inappropriate for children due to its sexually explicit content. Miller is using a criminal code aimed at catching sexual predators to entice minors, to justify his demand. Churchill, however, remains steadfast in her refusal to remove the book, despite the prosecutor’s threat to charge her with a felony.
Gender Queer: A Memoir tells the story of a nonbinary person’s coming-of-age and has been subject to controversy in many conservative-led counties and school districts across the country. According to PEN America, the book was the most banned book in school libraries in 2022 and the most challenged book, according to the American Library Association. However, Churchill and her supporters argue that the book is an important piece of literature that helps educate readers about the experiences of LGBTQ individuals.
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This is not the first time a Michigan library has faced backlash for keeping Gender Queer on its shelves. Last August, another library faced severe criticism for defending its librarian’s decision to keep the book. And last fall, a campaign to defund the Patmos Library was successful when voters rejected the library’s funding.
Advocates for free expression have taken issue with Miller’s use of the criminal code to target a librarian. PEN America’s director of the U.S. Free Expression Program, Kate Ruane, expressed her concern over officials using threats of punishment to intimidate librarians into censoring books. Ruane argued that there are legitimate channels to object to specific books in libraries, but using the office of a county prosecutor to threaten criminal charges against a librarian should be off the table.
Miller’s actions are part of a larger trend of Republican lawmakers seeking to ban books in public libraries and schools nationwide that are for, by, of, or about LGBTQ+ people. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has been criticized for policing thought and information in the state with his “don’t say gay” law, which has resulted in the removal of books from shelves and classrooms statewide. The actions of officials like Miller and DeSantis have sparked a renewed push for the protection of free expression and LGBTQ+ rights across the country.
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