‘Follow the law. Protect the children. Hold the line’ – Inside Rutherford County's Fight Over 132 Library Books
Jul 17, 2026 by FACT
A Tennessee librarian was told to move 132 books containing graphic LGBT content from the children’s section – she refused.
In March, the Rutherford County Library System (RCLS) board voted to relocate all books containing inappropriate sexual material out of the children’s section and into the adult area. Then-executive director Luanne James called the board’s decision "viewpoint discrimination" and declined to carry it out. On March 30, following a packed and contentious meeting, the board voted 8-3 to fire her.
This week, the Rutherford County Library System Board is hosting public Zoom interviews with candidates to fill the role permanently. Learn more here.
The Timeline
This incident is the result of a culmination of policies that trickled down from the Oval Office to the state of Tennessee, into a regional library system, and finally into a single Rutherford County boardroom. What looks like a local personnel dispute is actually the last link in a much longer chain – one that started over a year ago.
The purpose of the board’s decision was to ensure that when parents let their children roam around the children’s section of their local library, they won’t inadvertently pick up books with graphic sexual content or radical views on gender. This goes beyond being for or against LGBT ideology. It’s simply about believing that children should be shielded from mature concepts and adult sexuality – whether it’s homosexual or heterosexual. It’s that simple. That so many individuals on the left have such strong objections to shielding children from pornographic material is deeply concerning and symptomatic of a larger problem.
Luanne James was a public employee instructed to complete a very simple task, which she refused to do. As a result, she was fired. This is not a “censorship” battle or a First Amendment violation. It’s a library system – funded by taxpayers – doing its job and following the law. As Rutherford County school board member Caleb Tidwell put it at the meeting, “Follow the law. Protect the children. Hold the line.”
These laws were never about banning ideas. Adults are free to read whatever they choose and have wide access to a plethora of questionable books – neither the federal, state, nor local governments are attempting to interfere with that freedom. But children are not adults, and the children’s section of public libraries should not be treated as a free-for-all.
In March, the Rutherford County Library System (RCLS) board voted to relocate all books containing inappropriate sexual material out of the children’s section and into the adult area. Then-executive director Luanne James called the board’s decision "viewpoint discrimination" and declined to carry it out. On March 30, following a packed and contentious meeting, the board voted 8-3 to fire her.
This week, the Rutherford County Library System Board is hosting public Zoom interviews with candidates to fill the role permanently. Learn more here.
The Timeline
This incident is the result of a culmination of policies that trickled down from the Oval Office to the state of Tennessee, into a regional library system, and finally into a single Rutherford County boardroom. What looks like a local personnel dispute is actually the last link in a much longer chain – one that started over a year ago.
- January 20, 2025: President Trump signed Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” on his first day back in office, directing federal agencies to root out gender-ideology programming.
- September 8, 2025: Citing that executive order, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent the first of three letters to the Stones River Regional Library System, which includes Rutherford County, directing libraries to ensure their materials comply with all federal, state, and local law.
- October 27, 2025: Hargett followed up with a second letter, giving each of the region's 26 libraries 60 days to complete an “age-appropriateness review” of everything in their children's sections.
- October 31, 2025: A third letter addressed Rutherford County's library leadership specifically. RCLS Board Chair Cody York responded by retaining the American Center for Law and Justice to represent the board.
- November 5-6, 2025: Rutherford County announced an emergency closure of several library branches so staff could carry out the review Hargett's office had requested.
- January-February 2026: After the state granted a short extension, the board reviewed the results of the internal audit and prepared its recommendations, identifying 132 children's titles containing LGBT content for relocation.
- March 16, 2026: The board formally voted to move those 132 books out of the children's section and into the adult area. York said at the meeting that it is “dangerous and inaccurate” to tell children, particularly those going through puberty, that boys can be girls and girls can be boys.
- March 18, 2026: Luanne James notified the board in writing that she would not comply with the directive, calling the relocation order a form of “viewpoint discrimination.”
- March 30, 2026: The board voted 8-3 to fire her.
The purpose of the board’s decision was to ensure that when parents let their children roam around the children’s section of their local library, they won’t inadvertently pick up books with graphic sexual content or radical views on gender. This goes beyond being for or against LGBT ideology. It’s simply about believing that children should be shielded from mature concepts and adult sexuality – whether it’s homosexual or heterosexual. It’s that simple. That so many individuals on the left have such strong objections to shielding children from pornographic material is deeply concerning and symptomatic of a larger problem.
Luanne James was a public employee instructed to complete a very simple task, which she refused to do. As a result, she was fired. This is not a “censorship” battle or a First Amendment violation. It’s a library system – funded by taxpayers – doing its job and following the law. As Rutherford County school board member Caleb Tidwell put it at the meeting, “Follow the law. Protect the children. Hold the line.”
These laws were never about banning ideas. Adults are free to read whatever they choose and have wide access to a plethora of questionable books – neither the federal, state, nor local governments are attempting to interfere with that freedom. But children are not adults, and the children’s section of public libraries should not be treated as a free-for-all.
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