UKIAH, 6/15/23 — Rainbow decorations put up in celebration of Pride month were stolen from the Ukiah branch of the Mendocino County Library sometime on Tuesday, according to the librarian. Roughly two dozen books were initially thought to have been stolen from a Pride display in the children’s section, but they were later found hidden throughout other parts of the library.
The titles included My Moms Love Me, Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle and Who Are You? the Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity among others. Branch Librarian Melissa Carr described all of them as age-appropriate for children.
“The person who did this also took two children’s books about anti-racism that were not on the display. So, they hand-selected these books from elsewhere in the children’s library,” Carr said.
It’s not clear who was responsible for hiding the books and stealing the decorations, but Carr said the matter has been reported to the Ukiah Police Department. The individual also left a “very disturbing” note, although Carr declined to discuss its contents.
“Libraries were built on the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging,” Carr said. “We stand in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities and we want to make it clear that libraries are an inclusive place for everyone. We just encourage everyone to stand with us and our LGBTQIA+ siblings against censorship and hate.”
The Mendocino County Library posted about the incident on Facebook. You can read or share that post below.
How awful that someone would do that. Thank you to the library for putting up this display!
The perverts are shrieking that they are not allowed to victimize children with impunity and no pushback from good parents. “Gender identity” is not a topic for preschool and young elementary kids. Period.
And that “librarian” claiming it’s all “age-appropriate”?
Round up the usual suspects. You know, the same ones the government calls right-wing extremists, aka, a caring mother of a young child.