A public library in Huntsville, Alabama canceled the planned Brave Books story hour for Kirk Cameron this Saturday.
The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System notified them Wednesday afternoon it is “no longer available” for the faith-based “See You at the Library” event at 10 a.m. featuring women’s rights activist Riley Gaines.
“The Moms for Liberty organization had planned to feature Brave Books in a meeting room at Madison Public Library [this coming Saturday]. Due to the event’s anticipated attendance increasing beyond the Library’s capacity, the Library will be unable to host the event,” the library stated.
They suggested an alternate location to accommodate the expected 300-plus crowd, blaming the conservative group for improper planning.
“The City of Madison applies permitting regulations for outside events equally to all groups and organizations. While the initially planned event was suited for the Madison Library’s capacity, the scope of attendees quickly grew,” it said. “The Moms for Liberty group failed to apply for an event permit in advance, and it was determined that City resources cannot support an event of this size on such short notice.”
First Liberty Institute, on behalf of Cameron and Brave Books, sent a letter to the library.
“We write to inform you that, should you persist in the cancellation of this event, you will have engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional religious viewpoint and content discrimination in violation of the Alabama Constitution and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” First Liberty senior counsel Jeremy Dys said.
He requested a response by noon on Friday so Cameron could host the event Saturday.
“Should you refuse, we are prepared to vindicate this violation of our client’s civil rights in court,” Dys added.
Cameron tweeted Thursday that he and Gaines will be visiting two other libraries in addition to the Huntsville one: Hendersonville Public Library in Tennessee and Taylor Public Library in Texas.
The event has grown to over 300 libraries in 46 states, according to organizers.
Caleb Parke is the SMG managing editor. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and connect with him at calebparke.com.