Theft or civil disobedience? 16 books go missing after Shelbyville church encourages checkout and no return lgbtq books [View all]

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https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/08/18/theft-or-civil-disobedience/

Theft or civil disobedience?
16 volumes go missing after Shelbyville church urges members to check out, never return library books about LGBTQ+ people


SHELBYVILLE – A local church is urging its members to permanently remove books from the Shelby County Public Library by checking them out and never returning them. The books portray gay characters and historical figures or explore LGBTQ+ themes.
Pamela Wilson Federspiel, who has been director of the library in downtown Shelbyville for 34 years, says the action is tantamount to “stealing.”

But three leaders of the Reformation Church of Shelbyville defend what they call an “act of civil disobedience.”

“Yes — we have urged Christians, both locally and across the country, to search their libraries for books that promote sodomy, gender confusion and rebellion against God — and if found, to check them out and never return them as an act of civil disobedience,” pastors Jerry Dorris and Tanner Cartwright and Austin Keeler, an evangelist with the church mission, Reformation Frontline Missions, recently told the Lantern in an email.
The library has “lost” 16 books valued at $410.85 since a member of the church checked them out last year with due dates in late June 2024, said Federspiel. Some of the books were written for children, some for adults. (The list of books is at the bottom of this story.)