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Homosexual books stay in children’s area while ACLU lawsuit is in cou

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WICHITA FALLS, Texas (BP)–Two controversial children’s books promoting the homosexual lifestyle will remain in the children’s section of the Wichita Falls Public Library as long as a city council resolution is tied up in federal court, a judge ruled Aug. 18.
The resolution had given citizens recourse to have the books moved to the adult section of the Texas city’s library.
U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer, who issued the Aug. 18 order, next will rule on an ACLU suit filed July 16 which contends that the city council resolution violates the First Amendment. Wichita Falls’ local newspaper, the Times Record News, stated that Buchmeyer’s ruling could come “in about two months but it could take much longer.”
“While we anticipate that Judge Buchmeyer will rule against the city, we also expect that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would reverse his ruling,” said Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls.
The 8,400-member church led a drive that ultimately convinced the city council to pass the resolution to move the two pro-homosexual books — “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate,” both endorsed by the American Library Association — to the adult section of the library provided that 300 library cards holders sign a petition requesting such a move. More than 500 signatures were collected and the books were moved July 14.
“We are praying that the city council will demonstrate the fortitude to appeal any adverse ruling from Judge Buchmeyer,” Jeffress said. “This issue is not about censorship, but about the rights of parents to have input concerning the placement of books in the children’s section of the library.
“The public needs to understand that the ACLU and the American Library Association are working together to remove any restrictions on material made available to children, including internet porn sites,” Jeffress noted.
“We appreciate the prayers of all Christians for our city at this strategic time,” the pastor said.
Attorneys for both sides are now in the process of preparing written arguments in the case before Buchmeyer.
“Heather Has Two Mommies” is the story of a little girl who has what the author calls two lesbian “mothers.” “Daddy’s Roommate” tells the story of a boy who has a homosexual father who lives with his boyfriend. Written from a little boy’s perspective, it features a drawing of two men in bed with the caption, “Daddy and his roommate sleep together.” Another drawing shows two men embracing, with a caption, “Being gay is just one more kind of love.”
“Regardless of what happens next,” reflected Bill Streich, a First Baptist Church layman, in a letter to the city councilman who drafted the resolution, “we can be confident in [the Lord], and should be sobered up to the fact that the children of our community and those in our own households will at younger and younger ages be faced with a deceitful message of tolerance and acceptance designed to break down the absolutes of God’s Holy Word.”