Library board bows to haters of Charlie Kirk

By John Labriola - The Citrus County Library Advisory Board (LAB) meeting last week turned into a hate fest against Charlie Kirk, as leftists angered by a motion to commemorate him with a library display outnumbered residents supporting the idea.

Rita Fox of Lecanto said Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 by an angry leftist, deserved it. 

"When you preach hate, things like that are bound to happen," she said, attacking Kirk for rejecting Marxist ideas like critical race theory, for which she accused him of "white supremacy."

"In the end, the violence he rationalized and the racial fear he amplified converged in his own fate," Fox threateningly stated. 

Later in the meeting, she and another liberal woman stormed out shouting obscenities at LAB Chairman Justin Strickland. 

Other leftists said Kirk was a "racist," "bully," "bigot," "homophobic," "incredibly divisive," and a "white Christian nationalist."

Joanne Messina of Hernando said Kirk's speech was "crude and hateful," and said honoring Kirk would "legitimize divisiveness." 

Lesbian activist Deb Spence, overflowing with hateful anger, said she was "spitting nails over this." 

After about two hours of public input and discussion, the board voted 5-2 to reject the motion by LAB member Rhys Campbell to create a temporary display of books written or recommended by Kirk in all five Citrus County libraries. Strickland, who was criticized for wearing a Charlie Kirk Freedom shirt at the meeting, recused himself. Only Lenora Nelson voted with Campbell to support the motion, with Mari-Elain Ebitz, Burke Reagan, Katie Myers, Edith Ramlow and Lorraine Benefield opposed. Robert Bramlette was absent.

Several residents rejected liberals' false accusations against Kirk and supported the creation of a memorial display.

"Charlie Kirk was murdered for being a Christian, and notice the hate that's being expressed here," said Eric Ball of Crystal River. "The Bible says if you love Christ you'll be hated, just like Charlie Kirk was hated. Anyone who's effective at spreading a good Christian message is going to be hated."

Before recusing himself, Strickland said he was an admirer of Kirk and wore the T-shirt in honor of Kirk's birthday on Oct. 14. But he urged his colleagues not to vote for the display because it would be "political" and upset a precedent established in 2022 when the LGBT Pride propaganda display in June was canceled, although the library administration didn't provide such a rationale for ending the unpopular display. 

Ebitz echoed the sentiment that the library shouldn't have "political" displays, ignoring the fact that the library recognizes Women's History Month in March and Black History Month in February, both of which feature displays of books by or about political figures including Martin Luther King Jr.  

Liberal LAB member Burke Reagan also opposed a Kirk display, saying "just by the evidence of this meeting, he was way too divisive a figure."

Campbell had originally suggested utilizing all or part of the $3,300 savings from canceling the library system's BookPage subscription for the display, but Library Director Adam Chang said he already reallocated that money for e-books and printing costs. Campbell, who is a few months older than Kirk and a Christian, said he "felt it laid on his heart to bring this discussion up." 
 
Since his assassination, Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA and became its CEO, has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Donald Trump, who also signed a proclamation declaring Kirk's birthday, Oct. 14, as the National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk. The Lake County Commission, Marion County Commision and Collier County Commission have all voted to rename a county road after Kirk, and several bills pending in the Florida Legislature would rename state roads after him. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a partnership with Turning Point USA to ensure anyone who wants to start a TPUSA chapter at their high school won't face impediments or discrimination.

Given the many ways various governments are officially honoring Kirk, the Citrus County Commission, which represents one of the most conservative counties in Florida, should correct the LAB's mistake and vote to allow a Charlie Kirk book display in the libraries.

Email commissioners below to urge them to do so:

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