opinion

Banning LGBTQ books at library sends a message: You're not welcome here

A thistle to Sioux County Conservatives and others who are pushing to ban or segregate books related to homosexual and transgender content.

A flier was distributed throughout Orange City that denounced the young-adult and children's books and cited health concerns — including higher rates of suicide, depression, substance abuse and other problems — among the LGBTQ population.

Hmmm, do you wonder why that might be? And how our society might address those issues? And whether shame, stigma and prejudice might just play a role?

But to the group opposed to these books, it’s about fighting an “agenda.”

We all should be able to agree on an agenda of intellectual freedom and equitable service and access. Public libraries must serve everyone: black and white, rich and poor, religious and atheist. And yes, gay and straight.

And these materials shouldn’t be stuck on their own shelf, as some in Orange City are arguing. Patrons — particularly questioning teens — should have their privacy protected and should be able to check out materials without judgment.

Out of 64,000 materials, the Orange City Public Library has 168 books — less than three-tenths of 1 percent — that feature LGBTQ content. That cannot be representative of Orange City, or of any community in the state.

The library’s Board of Trustees should send a message that these patrons — and everyone — are welcome.

A rose to Iowa lawmakers for advancing a proposal to expand Iowa’s “safe haven” law. The current statute, enacted in 2002, was originally known as the "Baby Chelsea" law after a Chelsea teenager gave birth and left her dead newborn in a snowbank.

The law allows parents or others with parental permission to leave an infant up to 14 days old at a hospital or health facility without fear of prosecution for abandonment. Health facilities and workers taking measures to protect the physical health and safety of the infant are immune from civil or criminal liability.

At least 30 infants have been declared safe havens in Iowa.

Senate File 360, which passed the Senate last year, amends the law to include babies up to 30 days old. It also allows a person to call 911 to have police or other first-responders pick up the child. The infant would be taken to the nearest institutional health facility, which will be reimbursed by the state for providing care.

In an ideal world, all children would be wanted, and all parents would be able to care for them and have support in difficult times. Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in. Safe haven laws may help ensure children stay alive.