Matt O

🚨🚨🚨ATTENTION SOUTH CAROLINA CONSERVATIVES against tax-funded porn and FOR protecting kids from sexually explicit books in the public libaries: HERE IS THE FULL AUDIO of Charleston County Legislative Delegation last night. (under this post) This is long but SO WORTH THE LISTEN!! It exposes what's really going on down in Charleston with one Democrat boasting that he "made a call" to the Library Director and how "procedures" were followed. It also exposes the blatant disregard for the law via Budget Proviso 27.1-- signed by @henrymcmaster in 2024 & again in 2025- which was clearly intended to protect kids in public libraries. The debate about pornographic materials/sexually explicit materials in the children/teen sections of the Chas Co. libraries starts 42 minutes into the meeting. Some background: The Charleston Co legislative delegation was contacted via email and US mail last November asking them for an audit (via Budget Proviso 27.1) of the county libraries to determine whether or not they were in compliance with that provision, this was after years of finding explicit materials in the children's sections of the libraries and immediately after copies of "Big Hard Sex Criminals" were found shelved in the same aisle as "Mother Goose" (young children's section). One of the residents who sent the audit request, Pam Kusmider, gets on the delegation agenda to speak and ask for them to vote on an audit. This is after ANOTHER resident recently found MORE vile graphic pornographic books-- this time the "Saga" series--in the same aisle as young readers at the very same branch, in the same location where the "Big Hard Sex Criminals" series was located. Now-- this is important to understand: Even if the delegation HAD voted last night to request an audit of the Charleston Co Libraries-- which they didn't-- it wouldn't matter because the SC State Library- has already put into writing (LIKLEY under the guidance of top liberal lawyers in the USA provided for free from the American Library Association) that an audit will merely consist of collecting existing copies of policies/procedures/forms. Any effort to relocate explicit books to the adult shelves, or remove them from the library, isn't the job of librarians per the state library's guidance. ALA Activist/Former SCLA President/Charleston Co Library Director Angela Craig was put on the agenda late, after it was determined that the citizen was going to speak about the matter. Now here's a summary of the meeting: Under questioning from the Delegation Chair @SenatorCampsen --Craig tells him she is "concerned about the tone" at the meeting. She interrupts him (as she did another legislator before that) and says: "We do not have porn in our libraries" Other statements from Craig: "You need to read the entire book to understand the context." and then tells a legislator questiong her that: "You are more than welcome...to challenge a book." (she repeats later, too) and then the ALA's: "It's the parent's responsibility to know what their children are reading." Legislators rightly tell her that context isn't pertinent when an excerpt is very clearly explicit & he also states that even good parents can't always know what's in these books, it's the job of librarians to know what's in the books. When Craig boldly offers "we have nothing to hide"-- it's because she knows the State Library "audit" consists of simply submitting their current policies and procedures and forms-- but it WILL NOT consist of actually requiring movement of books which violate the proviso nor implementing a policy to ensure proper shelving of materials. You see Leesa Aiken, State Library Director, and Ms. Craig have actually been on an American Library Association advocacy panel together and they lobbied Governor McMaster's office together after the Proviso was first passed in 2024. They lobbied the state assembly getting them to vote for greater public support for the libraries. And with a 10-1 liberal majority board, she has no fear of losing her job for not following the clear intent of the budget proviso. During the meeting liberal Democrat downtown Charleston Senator @EdCSutton calls the whole effort to ask the delegation to request an audit (which is outlined in the proviso) a "cute stunt" and a "nothingburger" and accuses people of fighting the porn books in the children/teen/youth sections of libraries of "getting social media hits" as their motivation. Then he calls the retired Charleston Co teacher who spoke at the meeting a "random citizen" as he questions the packet of sexually explicit excerpts which she provided the delegation-- (see below) after he refused to take a copy of the packet! He later claims there wasn't evidence?? Unbelievable. Later in the meeting liberal Democrat @leonstav (an attorney) says that he "had a conversation with" Craig after "one of the recent allegations came out" (he's almost certainly talking about the "Big Hard Sex Criminals" books)- and THEN SAYS "they addressed it-- that's what procedures are for"-- And what Procedure would that be? A State Senator calling a Library Director after a clear porn book hits social media and three gubernatorial candidates send letters about it?? The library had a Board member- who also happens to be a former Democrat state rep--fill out a reconsideration request stating that he read all 3 copies of Big Hard Sex Criminals in order to get it removed?? (Sure he did.) Give me a break. Craig says-- "I have removed books entirely from the collection" RIGHT-- After a STATE SENATOR called you!! Epic level obfuscation. You could shelve Hustler magazine in the CHILDRENS section of Charleston Co Libraries today and it will not be moved unless you affirm that you've "viewed the entire material" and complete a form. @KathyLandingMtP also tried to call out this absurdity of librarians making citizens complete forms to move/remove pornographic materials. In trying to get a vote for the audit @voteleber did a good job trying to get the blind to see by pointing out that the Proviso was passed by the General assembly, and this is "in their scope" to step in and work to ensure that the fix the fact that the Proviso is being willfully ignored and not being adhered to.... In the end they refer the matter to the delegation's Education committee. We will continue to follow what happens as it's now up to legislators to follow through and protect kids from sexually explicit materials as we now know the Charleston Co Library Director won't. Here's the bottom line-- there are PORNOGRAPHIC BOOKS in the children/teen/youth sections of Charleston Co Libraries TODAY. It's not the job of CITIZENS to get those books moved- it is THE LAW and NOT a partisan issue! @larrygrooms @BennettSCSenate @GilGatch @SenatorCampsen @AdamsforSC44 @crepbrewersc114 @LeeHewittSC108 @murrellsmith