Friends of the library

A San Francisco public library invited a drag queen to host children’s storytime more than four years ago, and what started as a one-off event has turned into a movement. The nonprofit organization Drag Queen Story Hour now boasts nearly 40 U.S. chapters and hundreds of events a year.

But as the concept’s popularity has grown—spreading from the progressive nooks of San Francisco and Brooklyn to middle America—so has resistance to indoctrinating children with transgender ideology.

Earlier this month, police set up a “free speech zone” in a parking lot outside a public library in Chula Vista, Calif., after weeks of controversy leading up to a drag event. More than 200 protesters on opposite sides of the issue squared off in the parking lot while two drag queens—men dressed as women in flamboyant costumes—read books and sang songs to children and parents inside the building. “No hate, no fear—everyone is welcome here,” chanted the pro–drag queen demonstrators, divided from the other protesters by orange barriers. Some who opposed the event shouted back, warning of hell and judgment, while others quietly held signs reading, “Protect our children,” and, “No drag queens for our children.”

A drag event for teens garnered pushback at a central Ohio library earlier this summer. Local opposition ballooned into calls and emails from people around the country. Library officials eventually decided to cancel the event days before it was scheduled, saying they had received angry threats that they felt endangered the safety of presenters and participants.

Anne Pasma, a youth services specialist at the library in Ohio, said she objected not only to the event but to some of the tactics critics used to shut it down.

As part of her job, Pasma reads every new picture book the library orders before it goes on the shelf—everything from alphabet board books to picture books advocating for hormone therapy—a task she says can sometimes be disheartening.

But she also sees hope: Although the progressive agenda of the American Library Association influences local libraries, so do the communities they serve.

“If you are in the community, if you’re going to the programs that are honoring to God, if you are checking out books that are wholesome and good, then those are the things that are going to stay,” she said, adding parents should build relationships with library workers and respectfully advocate for the kind of programming they want. “If you disagree with a particular program, don’t go,” said Pasma. “It is difficult to persuade library boards to spend more money on programs for the community if the community doesn’t come.”

She also said her library tracks which books get handled the most and constantly pulls books that aren’t used. One man regularly visits Pasma’s library and hides all the books he doesn’t like. Compared to him and screaming protesters, she said, the influence of an involved parent who has a relationship with the library staff and expresses candid opposition to an event or a book on the shelf is “so much louder.”

Marci Laffen is trying to be one of those parents. The homeschooling mom in Andover, Kan., realized her local library was stocking books for children advocating gender identity and hormone therapy. She contacted her local library director and submitted “reconsideration requests” for each of the books. Although the requests were mostly denied—one book was moved from toddler to early reader—she developed a respectful relationship with the library director through the process. She’s currently advocating for the library to inform parents their children can check out R-rated movies and that the library will flag their card if they request it. She’s also gotten involved in an effort to pass a policy for the nearby Wichita Public Library requiring background checks for library presenters. She says “packaged hostility” is not the answer.

“You can’t approach people with a strong fist and try to force them to oblige you,” Laffen said. “We approach them with humble and respectful hearts. … We have to still remember we’re in a community together.”

A woman uses a Juul vaping device in Vancouver, Wash. Associated Press/Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer (file)

Vaping epidemic

The death toll from an outbreak of vaping-related illness climbed to 12 as of Thursday, with the total number of cases surpassing 800 nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials reported 530 cases last week, and the number is growing daily. The CDC launched an investigation into vaping products, but officials so far have not linked a particular ingredient to the lung conditions doctors are seeing. “The identification of the cause or causes for the outbreak may take substantial time and continuing effort,” Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, said Tuesday. Until then, she advised U.S. consumers to refrain from using any vaping products.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to ban all flavored vaping cartridges except those that taste like tobacco. The agency is also pushing regulations that would require e-cigarette companies to demonstrate that their products improve public health before they can be sold on store shelves. Juul, the leading maker of vaping products, replaced its CEO on Wednesday and announced it was halting most of its advertising and lobbying efforts. —Loren Skinker

More female same-sex households

Census data released last week showed that same-sex couples and their family members made up about 0.8 percent of all U.S. households. The majority of same-sex households were female couples (51.7 percent). In cities with large gay populations like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., male couples accounted for more than 75 percent of same-sex households. Almost 60 percent of the couples were legally married, up from 27 percent in 2008. —K.C.

Fighting the naked selfie

A new phone app is trying to fight “sexting” among children and teens using an algorithm that detects and deletes a nude photo or video before it can be sent or received on a phone. Creators of the app, called Selfie Stop, say it improves on older apps that notify parents of nude content but often not until after it has already been sent or received. —K.C.