No library bookings for Alabama nonprofit

On Tuesday, Eagle Forum of Alabama sued the city of Tuscaloosa over a public library policy that, the group claims, discriminates on the basis of religious beliefs. The political advocacy nonprofit contends that the Tuscaloosa Public Library must grant it equal access to public spaces like library meeting rooms.

“We should not be second-class citizens because of our religious viewpoint,” said Becky Gerritson, the executive director of Eagle Forum of Alabama.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the group, said the case highlights religious discrimination against Christian organizations. A win for Eagle Forum of Alabama will protect other groups’ First Amendment rights, it argued.

Eagle Forum of Alabama is a chapter of a national organization that maintains a Biblical understanding of marriage and family. The nonprofit holds meetings to educate and facilitate community discussions on good public policies for issues like healthcare, transgenderism, election integrity, and taxes, Gerritson said. Each year, the Tuscaloosa chapter holds anywhere from four to 12 events that are open to the public and typically draw 10-50 attendees, she said.

Tuscaloosa’s public library reservation policy broadly allows organizations and groups to use its Rotary Room as long as the events don’t disrupt its scheduled programs. The library typically grants six-month or yearlong approvals to use the space. In November 2024, it gave Eagle Forum the latter, according to the lawsuit, allowing it to hold events throughout 2025.

The Tuscaloosa chapter used the room in March 2025 to screen a political documentary. But in July, a staff member informed the nonprofit by email that the library had canceled Eagle Forum’s next event planned for August, citing a library policy barring religious groups from using the room for “preaching or otherwise demonstrating the beliefs of their members.”

The employee said the library canceled the event due to the policy and the current political and social climate, according to the lawsuit. The library barred Eagle Forum from using the room for any future events.

The leader of the Tuscaloosa chapter missed the July email alerting the group of the cancellation, Gerritson said. Chapter members arrived for the August event, a discussion on how the Bible informs political events, and found another group already meeting in the Rotary Room. According to the lawsuit, that group let Eagle Forum meet in the room in its place.

Days later, the library emailed Eagle Forum again, saying the nonprofit could no longer use the Rotary Room.

In September, Eagle Forum sent a demand letter to the library arguing that its policy violates clearly established constitutional rights and that it had a right to use the room. In a response two weeks later, the library doubled down on its policy.

Since the library’s cancellation, Eagle Forum has scrambled to find meeting spaces, Gerritson said.

But the nonprofit shouldn’t have to find a new meeting place, said Travis Barham, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom. Public libraries serve their communities and all citizens freely and equally, he said. The complaint notes that the Tuscaloosa library has allowed a variety of other groups to use the space, from Girl Scouts to health advocacy groups to magicians.

“When the library decides to open up a room for community groups to use, it needs to allow groups of all different viewpoints, all different backgrounds, all different beliefs, to use it on equal terms,” Barham said.

The Supreme Court has held for decades that public spaces should be open to all and not discriminate against certain beliefs, Barham added. But the library’s policy restricts speech by barring religious messages and programming, he said. By filing a legal complaint, Barham hopes the library will quickly update its policy and settle the lawsuit.

WORLD reached out to the library and the city for comment, but did not hear back prior to publication.

In a similar 2024 case, a church challenged a Miami-area library for barring it from meeting in a public room due to an exclusionary policy. And last month, a church in Maine argued before a federal court that a public school blocked it from a yearslong lease for a worship service space due to the church’s views on sexual identity and contraceptives. A ruling is pending.

Gerritson said she hopes the Tuscaloosa lawsuit will ensure other organizations are safe from receiving the same treatment.

“Barring a group from public space because it’s religious is discrimination,” she said. “We understand that if they can do it to us, they can do it to someone else. And we want to help protect the other organizations out there.”