Mobile City Councilman William Carroll recently lashed out at parents concerned about pornographic material in the children's section of the Mobile Public Library, saying if parents don't want their children to see those books, then keep out.
Carroll's heated remarks came after citizen Amber Ward addressed the issue during the public comment portion of Tuesday's regular city council meeting.
"We want pornography out of the hands and faces of children as it should be," Ward said.
Ward pointed out that $8.2 million in taxpayer dollars goes to libraries, and she believes the public should have a voice in removing inappropriate books from the children's section. She said those asking for action do not want the books banned or burned, as Carroll suggested the previous week after another citizen came forward and showed the council images of naked people in books in the West Regional Library.
In reply to Carroll's comments comparing the material to the context included in the Bible, Ward said the Bibles in the children's section of the library are age-appropriate.
"There are not regular Bibles in these sections of the libraries," she explained. "Children's Bibles, which are illustrated and only have certain stories in them, are in the children's sections and are age-appropriate."
"There are only history-based books about the Bible, like the lands and the animals of that time and books about the Bible," she continued. "There are limited options of regular Bibles in the library, not one in every language or denomination."
Further, Ward said the issue of children having access to the internet from smartphones is irrelevant to the concerns because taxpayer dollars are not being used to purchase phones for children. She added that many pornographic sites have age restrictions, and phones have parental controls.
SEE ALSO: Mobile councilman compares sexual material in library's children section to the Holy Bible
Carroll once again defended his position that parents are responsible for their children.
"If you want your child to go in the library and not see something, then you should be there to protect your child," Carroll stated. "So, if you let your child go in there by itself and he walks up on one of a thousand books and you're not there to protect him, or if he or she is of a minor age, then I have a problem with that."
"It is not the responsibility of the library to protect your child, period," he said. "It's the responsibility of the parent."
As Ward continued to stand at the podium, Carroll told her to sit down because he wanted to address the entire chamber.
"I'm fired up," he said. "You can sit down because I'm not talking to you."
"If we're talking about pornography, then we need to turn the TVs off," Carroll said. "We need to turn off a '911' because every episode has some man kissing a man or some lady kissing a man, inappropriate for a child to see."
"But do you govern with your children are watching on the TV?" he added. "I'm willing to bet 80% of you don't. Every time you see a movie on the television or at the movies today, there's some type of irresponsible view or something that we're looking at. All the superhero movies, there's something in them that we don't want our children to see. But you want to pick on the library?"
Carroll said even commercials played during shows represent "today's way of living."
"If you don't want a child to go in there, don't get them a library card," he told citizens. "Don't let them go in there. Don't let them check out the book."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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