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‘Unconstitutional! Alabama library suddenly cancels Saturday’s Kirk Cameron, Riley Gaines book event

August 4, 2023 | | Print Article

Just two days before actor-author Kirk Cameron, publisher Brave Books, and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines were scheduled to stop in Huntsville, Alabama, for a book event at the Madison Public Library, the Christian group learned they’d been canceled over logistics and safety concerns.

The faith-based team is pushing back, with First Liberty Institute, the law firm representing both Cameron and Brave Books, calling the abrubt cancellation a clear case of “unconstitutional religious discrimination.”

“The Moms for Liberty organization had planned to feature Brave Books in a meeting room at Madison Public Library. Due to the event’s anticipated attendance increasing beyond the Library’s capacity, the Library will be unable to host the event,” the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System said in a Wednesday press release.

“Initially, the organizers of the event reported 20 attendees to library officials,” it continued. “On Tuesday the Library learned that event organizers are now expecting over 300 people, a number that far exceeds any meeting room capacity within the Huntsville-Madison County Library System.”

“The Library explored options to make the event logistically possible by consulting the Madison City Police, the Madison City Fire Marshal and City officials,” according to the release. “After discussing the logistics of the event with both the Library and the event organizer, the Madison City Police Department and the Madison City Fire Marshal have recommended that the event be held at an alternate location.”


In the joint statement, the City of Madison claimed that Moms for Liberty failed to obtain the proper permit.

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“The City of Madison applies permitting regulations for outside events equally to all groups and organizations. While the initially planned event was suited for the Madison Library’s capacity, the scope of attendees quickly grew,” the city said. “The Moms for Liberty group failed to apply for an event permit in advance, and it was determined that City resources cannot support an event of this size on such short notice. Alternative accommodations have been recommended to the organization to ensure a safe and well attended event.”

Emily Jones, the chair of the Madison County chapter of Moms for Liberty, disputed the city’s allegations.

“The city has not talked to me about anything other than to say ‘move to private property’ because of security,” Jones told 1819 News. “I told the Chief we weren’t moving and he said that we couldn’t block the street at the library. That’s the only communication the city ever provided to me.”

In a letter to the library, First Liberty Institute suggested the cancellation had more to do with Cameron and Gaines than it did with “logistics.”

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“Until yesterday, you [the library] supported the event in Huntsville, AL at every step, including offering a large room at the Madison Public Library branch to accommodate the 250 local residents who plan to attend,” the Institute wrote. “However, upon learning that Mr. Cameron and his friend and Brave Books author, Riley Gaines, will be attending in person, you abruptly cancelled the event citing ‘security concerns’ from a potential protest of Mr. Cameron and claiming the event exceeds the library’s capacity.”

According to 1819 News, TikTok influencer Lindsay Booker, better known as Bhambluedot, has been organizing a trip to Madison for a counter-protest on the day of Cameron’s event.

Booker has been “encouraging her followers to show up to protest Cameron’s new book ‘As You Grow’ and to hand out books such as ‘Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation,'” according to the outlet. “She also gave recommendations for protest sign slogans like ‘Moms against Moms for Liberty,’ ‘Hey Lunatics! Stop terrorizing our educators,’ and ‘Moms for Liberty Shut the F*** Up.'”

“The Supreme Court has made quite plain that government officials cannot impose anything like a modified heckler’s veto, in which religious activity can be proscribed based on perceptions or discomfort,” the Institute told the library. “As it stands, however, you have denied our clients access to your facility out of an ill-defined fear that the content of their speech will generate security concerns. Moreover, appeals to concerns over capacity are similarly unavailing.”

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“It strains credulity to cancel an event that may be over capacity when library staff could simply operate on a first-come, first-serve basis,” the Instituted contended. “Claiming capacity concerns to cancel an event otherwise protected by the First Amendment is precisely the ‘whim of the administrator’ of which the Supreme Court warned.”

“In short,” the Institute stated, “whether over concerns of security or capacity, you have censored our client.”

The library now has until Friday at noon to reverse its decision and allow the “See You at the Library” event to proceed as planned.

“Should you refuse,” the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, warned, “we are prepared to vindicate this violation of our client’s civil rights in court.”

“We’re sitting tight until Brave Books gets a formal response back from the library,” said Jones, according to 1819 News.

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In an emailed comment to Fox News Digital on Thursday, Cameron said the libraries should be “grateful” for the interest the event has generated.

“These expensive libraries should really be grateful that so many parents and children are excited to visit them this Saturday,” he said. “Isn’t that what libraries want?”

 

Melissa Fine
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