COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Seven-year-old Patrice Droesch comfortably sat with her legs folded beneath her, lingering on the pages of Brian Lies’ “Bats at the Library,” a children’s book about bats that have a grand time when they find a window at their local library has been left open one night.
Patrice’s mom, Elizabeth Droesch of Coeur d’Alene, sat at a nearby table in the Seagrave Children’s Library at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, researching different titles.
“I was just going through all of these and reading reviews and making sure what I choose is appropriate for my kids,” she said. “It takes time.”
Droesch has three children ages 7-13 whom she homeschools.
She said their family will be impacted by House Bill 710, the "Children's School and Library Protection Act," when it goes into effect Monday.
“It impacts me in two ways,” she said. “I think one is there are materials in the library or in the kids’ section I don’t agree with maybe, especially under the realm of gender or gender identity. That’s not something I think should be so accessible for children, especially without an adult to help them process their thoughts or have conversations.
“However, I think it’s really controlling to fine librarians for something that seems to be very relative,” she said.
Droesch said she reads her Bible and she believes in raising children to know the Lord.
“But I don’t believe that we’re out here to control,” she said. “We’re not here to come and put our hands on everything and decide what’s right for everyone. I think everyone should have the freedom to choose and that parents should be involved in helping their children choose. That’s what I think.”
In Idaho, a state where freedom is a sacred right, this new law is celebrated in some circles and bemoaned in others.
To read the full story from our partners, the Coeur d'Alene Press, click this link.
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