(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Montana State Library Commission voted to stop working with the American Library Association, claiming that they could not cooperate with a group lead by a “Marxist.”
Five out of seven commissioners voted to discontinue their relationship with the ALA, the Daily Wire reported.
Commissioner Brian Rossmann voted “no,” claiming that the ceremonial role of ALA president was not worth abandoning the relationship altogether; Commissioner Peggy Taylor abstained.
The new president of the ALA, Emily Drabinski, previously described herself as a “Marxist lesbian” in a 2022 tweet, which several commissioners took issue with.
BREAKING: The Montana State Library Commission just officially voted to break all ties with the American Library Association over the fact that they elected a self described "marxist lesbian" as their president.
They are the first state to separate from the ALA. pic.twitter.com/AS77PQ4eN6
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 11, 2023
“l just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary,” Drabinski tweeted after the election. “I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity!”
The ALA elected Drabinski in April 2022, but she did not officially take office until July of 2023.
Immediately following the MSLC vote, the commission wrote a letter to the ALA disclosing their prompt departure from the program.
“We ought not promote, celebrate or support what scripture condemns,” said Dana Gonzalez, who was in favor of withdrawing, before quoting several Bible verses.
The MSLC hosted a public comment period before the official vote, where many librarians from within the state came and stated their support for the withdrawal from the organization.
“I have watched my profession go from honorable to shameful,” said long-time librarian Richard Marx. “Libraries all over the country and within Montana have shifted from serving communities to serving power. I am in full awareness that the reason for this shift aligns with the new ALA president’s expertise in critical pedagogy.”
Marx specifically called out drag queen story hours as a negative influence on the state’s libraries and children.
The surprise withdrawal by an official state organization pleased several parents and Montanan librarians.
Over the last few years, the American Library Association attempted to levy their influence in local libraries to eliminate parental rights in helping decide which books were available for kids.
Recently, the ALA hosted an annual meeting in Chicago that invited dissident librarians, authors and teachers to read their favorite banned books aloud as an act of opposition against tyrannical parents who do not want their children exposed to indecent—or even pornographic—materials.
