Citrus County libraries take a pass on celebrating perversion

By John Labriola - Last week was the first week of June, and while much of the nation was consumed in a sickening orgy of "LGBTQ Pride Month" celebrations targeting children – including sports teams donating ticket proceeds to transgender surgeries for minors and homosexual nightclubs hosting "Drag the Kids to Pride" events to expose kids to drag queens – the Citrus County library system mercifully declined to join in on the perverted festivities.

Unlike last June, the county's public libraries are not featuring any rainbow-flag-draped "LGBT Pride" displays of books and slogans promoting sodomy and transgenderism to children this month. Their absence is thanks to the huge number of residents who spoke out at Citrus County Commission meetings over the last year and signed petitions to demand an end to the grooming displays. Although commissioners have not yet set an official policy banning inappropriate sexual orientation and "gender identity" propaganda displays in the libraries, the months of community pressure were enough to convince library administrators to announce a "cooling off period" on LGBT insanity. 

On the other hand, Citrus County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Josh Wooten marked the first day of June with a special LGBT-themed email blast to all the Chamber's 600-plus member businesses. 

The Chamber of Commerce, its board and members have been under fire over Wooten's inflammatory remarks at the April 26 county commission meeting, in which he compared local Christian parental rights advocates to Alabama's 1960s segregationist governor George Wallace. In his email message to Chamber members last week, Wooten defended his remarks and once again smeared critics of last year's library displays as haters and "agitators." 

"I promise you and all of Citrus County, that the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce will always stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community; and we will challenge injustices and fight hatred and discrimination wherever it may arise," Wooten wrote. "We apologize that these agitators are targeting our county, library, cities, the Chamber, and you, as Chamber businesses."

Wooten's use of the taxpayer-subsidized Chamber of Commerce as a vehicle to push his personal brand of "woke" leftist ideology on the community is drawing an angry reaction from residents. 

"To refer to any member of the community as 'agitators' because they do not adhere to your particular liking, is wrong on every level, and there is simply no defense for your actions," Hernando resident Tracy Edgmon wrote in an email to Wooten. "As adults, live your lives as you wish. However, when the children are brought into the fray, such as placing books that are not innocuous to children, then it is the responsibility of the community to push back and determine what will and will not be supported with our tax dollars."

In an unhinged reply, Wooten told Edgmon to find "a new hobby" and denied the chamber receives taxpayer dollars.

The county's 2021-22 budget shows the Chamber received $50,000 in direct aid this fiscal year, in addition to the county's annual membership dues as a Chamber member. The county commission also recently designated the Chamber of Commerce as the coordinator of the Citrus One-Stop Recovery and Economic (CORE) Center, tasked with doling out $5.4 million in CARES Act funds to local businesses. 

Continue emailing your thoughts about whether Josh Wooten should be fired to the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce board of directors here:

John Murphy <jmurphy@chronicleonline.com>, Cregg Dalton <cdalton@citruspa.org>, Martin Drango <Martin.Drango@duke-energy.com>, Alyson Brennan <alyson@citruseducation.org>, Gwen Klaiber <gklaiber@citruspa.org>, Vernon Lawter <lawterv@cf.edu>, David Reed <dreed@ymcasuncoast.org>, Debbie Reilly <Debbie.Reilly@citruslibraries.org>, Rob Wardlow <rob@wardlowandcash.com>, Leslie Bollin <lbollin@crystalriverfl.org>, Craig Stevens <craig.stevens@citruscountyfire.com>, Jack Reynolds <jreynolds@brannenbanks.com>, Chet White <chet.white@steemer.com>, Janice Warren <jwarren@citrustc.us>, Tabitha Wells <tabitha@wellsbizsolutions.com>, Tom Ryan <centralridgetom@gmail.com> Kelley Paul <Kelley.Paul@fnf.com>, Jim Harvey <jharvey8@tampabay.rr.com>,  Gary Mock <gwmock@verizon.net>, Kevin Cunningham <kevinc@remax.net>,  Carl Flanagan <flanagan4@tampabay.rr.com>, Jack Reynolds <jreynolds@brannenbanks.com>, Don Taylor <dont4224@gmail.com>, Charles Davis <chas@chasdavis.com>, Grace Hengesbach <Grace@BeechStreetConsulting.com>

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