Riley Gaines and the Threat Facing Our Libraries

Thanks to SCDP member Ashe Seely for this write-up. This is an editorial piece and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Sumner County Democratic Party. This post originally appeared on Ashe’s Substack, Progress in Practice.

This week marks a new twist in the world of local politics here in Sumner County. Those who are in the loop can probably guess what I’m talking about: the appointment of Riley Gaines to the county library board, in a confused late night vote that was never publicized beforehand, revealed at the last minute while most of the county was asleep.

It was a shock move, to be sure, and one that dismayed those of us who were monitoring things in real time. If you’re familiar with the political scene in our neck of the woods, you probably know that a large portion of our county commission is comprised of affiliates of a group called the “Sumner County Constitutional Republicans,” a local far-right group of reactionary Christian nationalists that became a major player in county politics after the 2022 elections. And you probably know about their brazen and reckless approach to governance.

This power grab of the library board is simply the latest in a string of controversies they’ve played a central role in since coming to power, yet it might be one of their most audacious actions to date. And it has everything to do with their obsessive desire to control the content that can be accessed in our public libraries, going so far as to blacklist any content that is not in line with their own moral beliefs.

They have tried, and failed, several times over the past year to approve an updated collection policy for the library system that, among other things, includes an outright ban on any and all transgender-related content, full stop. The most vocal supporters of this effort have attempted to justify this move through a religious perspective; To them, gender nonconformity is a sin, and they will not hesitate to use the levers of government to suppress it. Such is their sectarian nature.

I’m sure that some who have read so far aren’t convinced that this is something to be outraged over. Maybe it’s because transgender issues are too distant from their own lives. Or maybe some actually want to see this content removed from our libraries. But if you’re one of these people, I’d like to ask you to stop and look at the bigger picture.

What happens when we allow our government to restrict the content accessible to us based on viewpoint alone? What happens when it begins to suppress content that it refuses to tolerate? For some, the subject matter of the current proposal has little, if nothing, to do with themselves. But what if our local government decides to broaden its restrictions to other topics?

I might sound like I’m being over-dramatic but consider that these people have repeatedly refused to back down from a blatantly unconstitutional policy that goes against the protections guaranteed in the First Amendment. This is an attempt by our local government officials to censor content that they personally disagree with, civil liberties be damned.

Prior to now, there were enough level-headed members on the county library board to prevent the enactment of this policy. But with the latest move by the county commission, that has changed. I expected some “constitutional” Republicans like Jeremy Mansfield and Tim Jones to make some sort of doomed, last-ditch effort to salvage their effort to legislate morality, but I did not expect an over-the-top stunt like this, nor did I expect it to succeed.

Riley Gaines, a Sumner County native and a failed swimming athlete-turned national anti-trans activist who has embraced the same strain of Christian nationalism as our local representatives. Tying for fifth place with an athlete who had followed the rules of the NCAA to the letter was enough to radicalize her into embracing a seething hatred of the entire transgender population of our country. Look at her social media pages and you will find that she does not hesitate to depict them and their allies in the worst light possible.

She is a professional bully, using her platform of millions of followers to demonize her opponents in her quest to dismantle the cultural and legal recognition of all transgender individuals. It does not matter if you are a national politician or a teenage athlete - if there’s even the slightest spark of controversy, you can and will be targeted.

This is the individual that the county commission decided to appoint to a local library board. The fact that she has zero professional qualifications is irrelevant; She agrees with their political goals, and has a platform that can be used to snuff out any and all opposition. Already, she’s targeting local elected officials to harass online, and it is very possible that she will turn her attention towards normal citizens who would dare to speak out against her and her allies in our local government.

A pulpit from which to name and shame their opponents - that’s what our far-right commissioners have gained from this. Their opposition is intimidated into submission, they get to pass their agenda, and Ms. Gaines profits off of the attention and controversy. We now get to live out the experience of national politics in our own backyard.

I hope I’ve made it clear by now that this is all by design. These are people who will stop at nothing to enshrine their own fringe beliefs as the supreme law of our community. The Constitution is secondary, useful only when convenient. If they cannot persuade, they will intimidate. This is not something that we can condone or remain silent over, not when the rest of the nation has already been consumed by a very similar cabal of demagogues.

We must continue to speak out wherever and whenever possible, not just for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of our neighbors, our cities, and for the values that have allowed our society to prosper.

If you disagree with the ongoing attempts to ban books in our public library system, sign our petition opposing book bans in Sumner County Libraries.