archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20231113001800/https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/11/11/tennessee-book-ban-public-ordinance-banning-homosexuality/
article text:
A public ordinance mandate in Tennessee effectively banning homosexuality could see all LGBTQ+ books removed from a local library.
City officials in Murfreesboro, Tennessee met on Monday (6 November) to discuss removing all books featuring LGBTQ+ themes under an ordinance passed in June.
The ordinance prohibits âindecent behaviourâ in public and outlaws âindecent materialsâ which are vague enough to include homosexuality.
It states that the local community has âthe right to establish and preserve contemporary community standardsâ which would ban behaviour that local officials deem indecent.
The clause used to define indecency links back to Murfreesboroâs city codes which describe âsexual conductâ as indecent. The sexual conduct clause includes âhomosexualityâ.
The ordinance gives police officers the right to enforce bans on indecent behaviour under the clause and states that anybody using city funds for events that fall under indecency can be charged with further crimes.
City officials have since used the passed ordinance to target the LGBTQ+ community, including by removing books from the Rutherford County Library Board that contain queer themes.
Multiple board members reportedly claimed they had the right to âenforce community standardsâ and ban books they deemed indecent.
In August, library board officials decided to remove four titles: Mike Curatoâs Flamer, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolanâs Letâs Talk About It, Jennifer Knappâs Queerfully & Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens and Juno Dawsonâs This Book is Gay.
The board then implemented a tiered library card system where most LGBTQ+ nonfiction could only be accessed through an adult-only library card.
Judge temporarily blocks Tennessee public ordinance for drag event
The ordinance made national headlines after officials attempted to enforce a ban on the BoroPride festival in October.
A federal judge was forced to temporarily block city officials from using the ordinance to ban BoroPride from taking place on 28 October, after the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project, which has hosted the Pride festival since 2016.
âWe are relieved that the court has taken action to ensure that Murfreesboroâs discriminatory ordinance will not be enforced during the BoroPride festival,â Tennessee Equality Project director Chris Sanders said.
âWe look forward to a safe, joyful celebration of Murfressboroâs LGBTQ+ community.â
Tennessee is considered to be one of the worst places in the US to identify as LGBTQ+ according to various human rights groups including the Human Rights Campaign, which labelled it as a âhigh priorityâ state in fighting to achieve basic equality.
Independent journalist Erin Reed has identified Tennessee as among the worst states for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, alongside Oklahoma, Kansas, and Florida. She described state officials as attempting to âlegislatively erase trans peopleâ.
absolutely has to be some kind of KIA before they started looking kind of cool but recent enough that it's still a fairly new car with a hundred thousand good miles left on it