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Montgomery pediatrician David Perry explained Thursday the impact of pornography on children during a meeting of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board.
The invitation of Perry to speak had board member Quincy Minor asking why Vice Chair Rachel Daniels invited him to speak at the board meeting.
“It was to expand on research that has been done about the exposure of sexual subjects to children,” Daniels said.
Perry is part of a fringe anti-LGBT group of pediatricians known as the American College of Pediatrics, which has just 700 members nationwide. It is easily confused for the major pediatric association in the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has more than 67,000 members.
The much smaller group of pediatricians is a socially conservative group that opposes abortion rights and adoption by gay couples, while promoting conversion therapy. Mainstream researchers have criticized the group when it has used their research and twisted it to fit into that anti-LGBT agenda.
The first half of the presentation presented information about the negative impact of children viewing pornography, in an apparent implication that the library has previously had pornography on the shelves available to children, which it has not.
Perry also touched on gender dysphoria and transition, arguing that transgender care is not “settled science,” emphasizing the “Cass review” in England which found that there is insufficient research on the long-term effects of transgender treatment.
Perry said having books in the library where children transition promotes something that “can’t actually happen in this state” and argued that the books present to children that doctors agree that transgender care is helpful despite debates among doctors.
“I am absolutely flabbergasted that you all invited Dr. Perry here to speak on topics that are specifically outside the realm of your areas of expertise and have nothing to do with this library,” resident Christina Garner told the board. “There are no pornographic books in the adult section, children’s section or any other section of this library and there never have been. Secondly, your policies specifically in your update in June removed restrictions on discussions of gender ideology and gender dysphoria.”
The board also briefly addressed its ongoing federal suit brought by patrons of the library, which will have a status conference next week.
“We filed a motion to dismiss in the federal lawsuit and that one has not been responded to by the opposition,” said board attorney Laura Clark. “They filed a motion to amend and supplement their complaint. We filed to vacate that because it really wasn’t properly, the contention is that the argument doesn’t fit.”
Clark said the board is also facing an Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint but did not elaborate further on that.
Clark also took a moment to share that “whatever laws we deal with here, God is still on the throne.”
The board also approved its proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, noting that the board is merely requesting level funding from both city and county.
“Why is the board seeking level funding from the city and county while simultaneously suggesting raises for staff, incurring mounting legal fees and adding hours to the staff workload in order to implement the new policies,” Garner asked.
Chair Ray Boles answered that “after we got into the books when we got rid of our last person, an absurd amount of money was wasted.”
“We’ have been able to correct that situation,” Boles said, thanking interim director Tammy Bear for “righting the ship, financially.”
That comment could be construed as violating a provision fo the board’s settlement agreement with former director Andrew Foster. A clause in that agreement ensures both parties agree “that they shall not make any disparaging or critical remarks about one another.”
Garner also raised questions about a fundraising page for the library’s legal battle that has only been shared and spread online by Clean Up Alabama.
“Why is there a fundraiser on behalf of the APOPL board sponsored by Clean Up Alabama,” Garner asked. “Why does that fundraiser have a $100,000 goal for legal fees. And, a really important question, why do donations for the Clean Up Alabama fundraiser go directly to the account of an individual board member?”
Garner told APR that the account is taken out under the name of Vice Chair Rachel Daniels.
Libraries across the state are watching to see what comes from the federal suit against Prattville’s policies, in caution not to be brought to court themselves.
The status conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on AUg. 7 at the Frank M. Johnson Federal Courthouse in Montgomery.
