‘I will not comply’: Tennessee librarian refuses to move LGBTQ+ books

A Tennessee library director is drawing national support after refusing to relocate LGBTQ+ children’s books, citing the First Amendment.

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In a message sent this week to the Rutherford County Library System board, Director Luanne James said she would not comply with an order to move more than 100 LGBTQ+ titles from youth sections to the adult area.

“Restricting access to these materials through subjective relocation or removal constitutes a violation of the community’s right to information and a direct infringement on the principles of free speech,” she wrote in a letter to the board of the Rutherford County Library System on Wednesday.

She called the board’s vote “a clear act of viewpoint discrimination” and said carrying it out would violate both the First Amendment and her professional obligations.

“Therefore, I will not comply,” she wrote.

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The Rutherford County Library Board voted on Monday to relocate more than 190 books, many involving LGBTQ+ themes, from children’s and teen sections to adult areas following a review of “age-appropriate” materials.

That review stems from last year's directives from Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, ordering libraries to conduct an “immediate age-appropriateness review” of children’s materials. In Rutherford County, the directive led to the review of tens of thousands of books and the removal of thousands for further evaluation.

Board Chair Cody York has said the board’s latest decision is intended to limit children’s access to content the board considers inappropriate.

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“I would argue that gender confusion [is] the idea of telling someone that boys aren’t really boys, they can be girls, and girls aren’t really girls, they can be boys, and that you should advocate for [or] encourage the dismembering of healthy sex organs,” York said during the debate, according to MTSU Sidelines. “I don’t think that that’s appropriate for children.”

James’ refusal has put her job at risk. Board leadership has indicated disciplinary action, including possible termination, could be considered.

As the dispute has escalated, national groups have begun weighing in.

On Friday, PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for free expression and writers’ rights, publicly backed James.

“Children and teens deserve access to diverse books that represent their identities and stories,” the group said. “Luanne James is putting her job on the line to defend the First Amendment rights of all in her community.”

The organization said librarians across the country are facing increasing pressure to remove or restrict books.

The dispute follows an earlier controversy in Rutherford County. In December, The Advocate reported that James sought whistleblower protection after alleging the board chair requested detailed patron data, including names, addresses, and reading histories—an allegation he denied.

Civil liberties advocates told The Advocate at the time that such efforts, along with attempts to remove books based on LGBTQ+ content, could raise serious constitutional concerns. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee warned that the government cannot censor books “based on dislike of or disagreement with the ideas they contain.”

Local advocates also said the effort was not about obscenity but about removing LGBTQ+ representation from public spaces. “This is about eliminating the acknowledgment that LGBTQ+ people exist,” Keri Lambert of the Rutherford County Library Alliance told The Advocate.