Librarian fired after refusing to censor 2SLGBTQ+ books, wins $700,000 US settlement

Terry Leslie never expected to become a major figure in the heated debate over free speech and book bans that has involved libraries across the United States and Canada. She certainly didn’t expect to be fired.

Now, more than two years after she was fired as director of the library system in Campbell County, Wyoming, she has won a $700,000 ($976,710 CAD) settlement in a lawsuit over her termination.

“I feel relieved to have this result, and I believe it will help my community move forward,” Leslie said. As it happens Host Neil Coxall.

“People who want to continue to push an agenda that goes against these library materials and the First Amendment (the right to free speech), I hope they see that, and I hope it will be a deterrent.”

In her lawsuit, Leslie says she was fired from her job after nearly 20 years because she refused to remove or restrict books 2SLGBTQ+ themes and sexual content from bookstore shelves in Gillette, Wyo.

The district denied Leslie’s allegations. Court documents said Leslie was fired because of her performance, not because of the dispute over the books.

Campbell County pointed to CBC’s statement from a lawyer for its insurance company, which notes that the settlement “is not an admission of any of the allegations.”

“No one won or lost,” the statement read. “Rather, it reflects an agreement to settle the lawsuit early before the expenses associated with the litigation begin to mount significantly.”

Under the settlement agreement, Leslie is waiving her lawsuit, although a separate lawsuit she filed against three individuals who objected to the books continues.

How sharing pride changed everything

For most of her decades of public service in Wyoming County, Leslie says book challenges were extremely rare.

That all changed in 2021, she says, when the library’s public relations coordinator put out a Facebook post for Pride Month highlighting their 2SLBGTQ+ group.

Suddenly, complaints started piling up. The three book challenges in August tripled to nearly 30 by the end of the year. According to the American Library Association (ALA).

“Nothing like this has ever happened to us before,” Leslie said. “I was completely surprised.”

Titles that I object to In Gillette Included This book is gay By Juno Dawson, How to make a baby By Anna Fisk, Do this By Hannah Whitton, Sex is a funny word By Corey Silverberg, W Dating and Sex: A Guide for the Teenage Boy in the 21st Century By Andrew B. Smiler.

The complainants objected to the sexual nature of the books, many of which were aimed at teenage readers and appeared in the library’s young adult section.

But Leslie says it’s no coincidence that many of the titles challenged feature 2SLBTQ+ content.

“It was clear to me that there was an anti-LGBT mentality,” she said.

“These community members spoke at public meetings about their feelings so it was easy to understand where they were coming from and how they didn’t think young people should have access to these books because of LGBTQ content.”

Leslie’s job is to work with the public, not against them, so she took an education-based approach to this controversy.

“I tried to do educational things for the community to help them understand how public libraries work, how we have materials in our library for the entire community, and how important this type of material is to some members of our community,” she said.

In 2022, the ALA awarded Leslie the John Philip Emroth Memorial Award, which honors “personal courage in defense of freedom of expression.”

She says the award was a balm at a time when she was facing a barrage of negativity, including allegations that she promoted child pornography.

“That was a major factor in helping me keep going,” she said. “I felt like I was moving forward with something that people really cared about and that they appreciated that I took a stand.”

But in 2023, Leslie was fired.

She says the books in question were quietly moved to the adult section of the library the The cry has largely died down.

Libraries have become a battleground

Leslie’s expulsion came amid similar battles across the United States, and in Canada as well.

In 2023, the ALA recorded 9,021 book challenges in the United States, up from 233 challenges in 2015, the third-highest number on record since 1990. That number dropped to 5,813 challenges in 2024.

The association says that the majority of demands to impose censorship or restrictions on books in schools or public libraries, i.e. 72%, came from organized movements.

“The most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false allegations of unlawful indecency against minors, inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes, and coverage of themes of race, racism, equality, and social justice,” the ALA said.

Rathod Muhammadbhai, the Denver-based law firm that brought Leslie’s case, has supported fired library employees elsewhere in recent years, including in Texas teacher who was fired For her class to read passages from a graphic novel adapted from Anne Frank’s diary.

Similar battles Played in Canadian cities and schools.

In February, CBC Fifth property The researchers analyzed more than twelve hours of video footage, book challenge data, social media activity, and secret recordings related to the book challenges. She traced the book ban movement in Canada to a network of influence in the United States, where she says the right-wing anti-2SLGBTQ+ campaign led to laws threatening libraries in Republican states.

and, more recently, the United Conservative Party government in Alberta ‘Sexually explicit’ books were banned from school libraries this summer.

The move prompted Edmonton Public Schools to compile a list of 226 books to remove from shelves and classrooms, including popular works such as Maid’s Hille, violetand I know why the caged bird sings.

After a violent public backlash The province has paused new restrictionsHe then issued revised directives to withdraw the books Contains explicit images of sexual actsbut not a written description of oneself.

Leslie says she fought to keep objectionable books on the shelves because she believes in the right of citizens to read, and the right of parents to decide what is appropriate for their children, without… limit Reaching other people children.

“It’s not the job of someone who doesn’t agree with books to try to restrict access to children who need books,” she said.

Her lawyer, Iris Halpern, says she hopes her client’s settlement will have a broader impact.

“We hope it at least sends a message to other library districts, other states, other counties, that the First Amendment is alive and strong and that our values ​​against discrimination also remain alive and strong,” Halpern said.

“These are public entities. They are government officials. They have to take into account their constitutional obligations.”