Just two days ahead of a planned stop at Madison Public Library in Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday, actor-writer Kirk Cameron, along with his publisher, Brave Books, and special guest, women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines, have learned that they will not be welcome due to the library system’s concerns about logistics and safety ahead of the gathering.
The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System said in a release on Wednesday afternoon that it can no longer accommodate the book reading event. The Brave Books team said it is challenging the conclusion.
In a press release, the library system said, “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 release continued, “Initially, the organizers of the event reported 20 attendees to library officials. On Tuesday the Library learned that event organizers are now expecting over 300 people, a number that far exceeds any meeting room capacity within the Huntsville-Madison County Library System.”
The release also said, “The Library explored options to make the event logistically possible by consulting the Madison City Police, the Madison City Fire Marshal and City officials.”
It went on, “After discussing the logistics of the event with both the Library and the event organizer, the Madison City Police Department and the Madison City Fire Marshal have recommended that the event be held at an alternate location.”
In addition, the release noted, “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 went on, “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.” Moms for Liberty is one of the organizations that is supporting the event and had booked rooms ahead of Saturday.
