GOP official wants to require teens be accompanied by their parents at the public library

A battle over LGBTQ+ books in a Virginia county may cost teenagers their right to visit the public library.

The chair of the Board of Supervisors in rural Botetourt County has decided the best way to ensure “parental rights” in the tiny rural area, pop. 34,000, is to send parents to the library with their kids.

Related:

Texas county bans libraries from providing LGBTQ+ books to minors

“Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in the books they read…. [so they] can foster empathy, tolerance, and connection.”

Acting on a campaign pledge made in June before a primary election, board chair Donald “Mac” Scothorn (R) announced a proposal at the board’s July 31 meeting to prohibit anyone under 18 from visiting the county library without adult supervision.

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It’s the board chair’s solution to a long-simmering dispute over LGBTQ+ content in the county’s four public libraries, pitting Botetourt County residents associated with groups like Moms for Liberty against free speech advocates.

The “parents’ rights” activists have pursued their book-banning agenda at school board meetings, filing removal request forms at the libraries and publicizing what they believe is inappropriate content for minors on a website likely available to minors.

For their part, the Board of Supervisors has issued two resolutions declaring “unwavering” support for the library system and staff, including one issued at the same meeting where Scothorn announced his proposal.

Scothorn’s idea came as a surprise to Marlene Preston, chair of the Botetourt County Library Board of Trustees, which has the ultimate say over library policy.

“The Library Board hasn’t endorsed or even discussed any changes to our policies regarding teens in the library,” Preston told Cardinal News. “For now, we’re pleased that the Board of Supervisors has formally supported the library and its staff.”

County Supervisor Steve Clinton, who also serves on the library board, agreed a change to the libraries’ supervision policy is not on the agenda, and called Scothorn’s recommendation a “news flash” he’s not in favor of. The Library Board’s next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16.

Current policy in Botetourt County libraries requires children 13 and under to be supervised by adults, which has more to do with behavioral considerations than what kids may be reading, according to library director Julie Phillips.

She’s concerned how teenagers would interact with the public library under more restrictive parental guidance rules. Programming for teenagers at the four libraries includes a chess club and special programs like improv theater classes.

Attendance policies for minors vary by jurisdiction around the state. In Franklin County, children 10 and younger require supervision by an adult or another child 14 or older. In Rockbridge County, children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult 18 or older.  

Until August 2020, the unattended child policy in Botetourt County was even less restrictive, reading, “Children under the age of seven, or who have emotional or social difficulty, must be attended by a parent or other responsible caregiver at all times.”

Scothorn’s campaign promise, published with another supervisorial candidate in a local county newspaper, read in part: “We pledge to bring before the Board of Supervisors of Botetourt County a proposal to raise the age of required parental consent for access to graphic sexually explicit materials to the age of 18.”

Doing so would “ultimately give the decision on access to such materials to the parents, where we believe that decision belongs,” the statement read.

Scothorn and Miller wrote they based their idea on H.B. 1379, passed by the Virginia House of Delegates early in 2023, which would have allowed parents to restrict their children’s access to any item in a school library catalog that was considered to have “graphic sexual content.”

While that bill failed to pass the state senate and didn’t make it into law, the pair wrote, “We believe its intent can inform local library policy considerations.”