Waltham Free Library May Have Been Targeted Over LGBTQ Books

Waltham MA

22 February, 2022

4:10 PM

Description

WALTHAM, MA — The owners of a free library in Waltham said they believe it is being targeted because it is LGBTQ-friendly, reported NBC 10. Petrie and Katie Cohen, who built The Little Queer Library on their front lawn in 2020, posted surveillance footage from their front porch that captured a man taking about 20 books off the shelves. A similar incident happened at the beginning of the month, said the Cohens on their social media. "This is beyond frustrating, but you know what? We are just going to fill it up again," they wrote. "These books need to get into the hands of those that need them. No matter what happens, we aren't going anywhere." Following the two incidents, the library received hundreds donations and has been able to re-stock its collection. "Thank you so much for everyone's donations, kind words, and support," wrote the Cohens. "You have completely outshined all the badness that has happened in the last few weeks. We seriously can't thank you enough for allowing us to reach more people and purchase enough books to last us a long time." On the same day as last week's book swiping, the Waltham School Committee debated over whether two LGBT themed books, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, should be banned. The committee ultimately voted unanimously to keep the books.