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I wonder how long it would take for them to cry foul if a group did the same thing for all of the Christian-themed books in the libraries...

I've worked in libraries and this isn't a new tactic. The funny thing to me is that the library will almost always rebuy the missing book unless they were planning on removing it anyway, so the net result is a signal to the publishers to print more LGBTQ books.

So much for “Thou shalt not steal.”

But then, the most ardent believers do the most cherry picking with The Bible.

I'd say it's both, but for a hateful and regressive cause that I despise.

Steal the bibles from their pews. Steal the after-service refreshments and give them to the homeless.

This is the Reformation Church of Shelbyville, KY.

It sure would be a shame if the bibles they leave out every day went missing.

Yeah, so when you take something that isn't yours and don't give it back. That's theft.

Of course religious freaks are going to create their own reality in which theft isn't theft. They're pros at creating alternate realities when it benefits them.

These are criminals not only committing theft, but also a hate crime.

Sue the church for damages, both physical and mental. It should cost them a lot to promote bigotry and hate.

The library will just bill them after a year. What idiots.

Imagine doing shit like this and thinking history will remember you fondly.

“Are we the baddies?”

Shocked by this. The pastor seems like a great guy with totally normal opinions.

The way to fight this is easy. Offer to buy new library copies. Eventually they'll run out of people without overdue books.

Burning or disposing of the books will also generate bad press because it associates them with their kindred spirits: Nazis and church censors.

Civil disobedience often comes with the cost of breaking the law and enduring the consequences.

You may not agree with their non violent protest but as long as they suffer the consequences, I'm okay with it.

Just tell me where to donate to replace the books so they can accrue more punishment.

I'm not sure what the "or" is for. Acts of civil disobedience are generally illegal or close to it. This is theft and civil disobedience, though not one I agree with (nor do I think it would be particularly effective, tbh). But something being civil disobedience doesn't make it not illegal or not wrong it's just the reasoning behind doing it.

Civil disobedience is a peaceful way to protest unfair laws when the regular methods of changing the law are too restricted or too slow to protect the civil rights of citizens. Civil disobedience in this case would be refusing to check out or read books that they find objectionable, if the government were to mandate that they be read.

You could make the argument that government is mandating this content if public schools assign it to students, but there is no real punishment under the law for rejecting a school assignment. It’s that they don’t want YOU to have access to this information, which is the opposite of civil disobedience: oppression. If the government were to mandate the removal of this content, as these citizens would like, the act of disobedience would be to read the books.

This is stealing from a public library.

The religious.... Always willing to break the law

Go to their church, and borrow money from the collection tray without returning it

This ultimately just leads to more sales of the book they hate when the library has to replace it.

That's theft. There's nothing CIVIL about trying to erase the presence of a particular group of people from society ...

Bill them fees. Then take them to court when they don't pay and if they do pay use the money to buy more of the books. These are fools that are used to being milked like cattle...use it for good.

Hope they enjoy their item replacement fees and collection agency reports, and not being able to use the library at all 'til all of that is resolved (no matter how much a fit they throw when they can't use the printers.) They'll still pay for the material with their taxes. They're paying for public unbiased access to information either way. We'll serve LGBTQIA+ books the same way we serve faith books the same way we serve Bill O'Reilly's slop and tomes of questionable fad diets and endless ghostwritten hackjob murder mysteries. For free. For everyone.

Their loss if they wanna stay dumb and mad.

Pretty sure God's not big on stealing stuff that ain't yours, too. These "churches" are cults of lost, confused, angry children, and I pray they find their brains somewhere along the way.

Thanks for supporting your local libraries, especially as we're under siege from so many angles every single day.

---With love, a library employee (also a Christian)

This would be a good charity that sees what books have been missing, buy them and just drop them in the library return box. Also, picket that church and dig into the pastor's dealings with their community. I bet they have secrets.

There are two groups here. One wants to be allowed to live their lives in peace and one wants to control you. The press and the ones that want to control you you have twisted it and it’s infuriating.

Theft, plain and simple. The only hope is that they actually read those books and learn something.

Maybe the library should raise and enforce their late-return-fees...

If it's religious, yeah, it's theft. These assholes happily break every commandments they have "in the name of Christ"

Why is it always always the religious that really truly fuck everyone else over?

I'm at the point where if someone claims to be religious that I'm just assuming they'll rape their children because chances are big that they do.

It takes religion to make a good man do terrible deeds.

Mankind will never be free until the last politician is strangled with the robes of the last priest

Just send a bill to the church for the books. If they don't pay, you sue them.

So if I steal a song book from a church that is okay with them. Right?

Wow these LGBT books are flying off the shelves! We should buy a lot more of them!