Some want LGBTQ themes hidden from children in Greenville, but advocates speak out

LGBTQ+ advocates spoke out Thursday against legislation that Greenville County Council member Joe Dill plans to propose to require books with LGBTQ+ themes to be removed from the children's section of Greenville County libraries.

"Authoritarian governments ban books, not democratic republics,"  said Leslie Johnson, who founded Greenville's chapter of PFLAG, an organization supporting LGBTQ+ families and allies, nearly 30 years ago.

Johnson was one of 23 local residents who spoke out against such a proposed ban before a crowded room of onlookers.

No one at the public-comment session spoke in favor of banning books.

Six County Council members were present at the start of Thursday's meeting, but that number shrunk to four by the meeting's end.

The public outcry came after the Greenville County Republican Party passed a unanimous resolution on Sept. 12 urging County Council to remove books with LGBTQ+ themes and what County GOP Chairman Jeff Davis called "sexually explicit" content from the children's section of county libraries and place them with adult books.

Here's how kids can still read them:LGBTQ books are being banned from schools.

The GOP's resolution also called for an investigation into the LGBTQ+ displays that were erected at county libraries in June for Pride Month. Davis said those displays, which were taken down and then reinstalled after community pushback, were part of the inspiration for the party's resolution.

Dill told The Greenville News before Thursday's meeting that he had taken up the Grenville County GOP's request and had asked the County Attorney to draft a resolution he hoped would be ready by the council's next meeting on Oct. 4.

Dill said the resolution will be similar to the one passed by the county GOP but perhaps with certain changes in language.

County Attorney Mark Tollison did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment about the legislation.

Susan Ward, the current president of PFLAG GVL, said before the meeting that removing these books would create harm for LGBTQ+ children, and for children in LGBTQ+ families.

It is critically important for LGBTQ+ children to see themselves represented in the world around them, Ward said.

"We just want these kids to have the opportunity to read books that show families like theirs, that show kids who feel the same way that they do, that show them that they are not alone, they not broken, they are not anomalous," Ward said.