Hate Group Bullies Texas Town Into All But Eliminating LGBTQ Pride Month Display

By John Wright

A Central Texas town’s Pride Month display has been reduced to a single flier, following a campaign led by a minister affiliated with an anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Last year, a Pride Month display at the public library in Temple, Texas, included a bulletin board (above) and a table with LGBTQ-themed books, according to the Temple Daily Telegram. The display was part of a nationwide initiative from the American Library Association.

While the display was up, the library logged five positive comments, and three negative ones. However, nearly two months later, a local group called Concerned Christian Citizens launched a campaign targeting the display, alleging that it “promote[d] a lifestyle the Bible calls immoral” and “undermine[d] our best efforts to raise our children with our values.” 

Happening now: protests outside the Temple library regarding LGBT book displays @KWKTFOX44 pic.twitter.com/VQuSXJe9kC

— Nohely Mackowiak (Mendoza) (@_NohelyMendoza_) January 30, 2018

The campaign was led by minister Joe Goodson, the president of Concerned Christian Citizens who is also an activist affiliated with  MassResistance, which has long been considered an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In response to Goodson’s campaign, the library’s board of directors adopted a new policy prohibiting displays that “promote a specific religion, political party or cause.”