MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — At a July 11 commissioner's court meeting in Montgomery County, a battle over books took center stage.
"This is really an agenda to sexualize our children at a young age," Lisa Palmer said.
Michele Nuckolls expressed frustration at the lack of conservative-themed books in the library system.
"I was not able to find one book on the traditional conservative Christian view of gender," Nuckolls said.
Commissioners Court ultimately voted to restrict "explicit" or "objectionable" material in public libraries from anyone under 18. That restriction includes LGBTQ-themed books.
"You're telling them there's something wrong with them," local bookshop owner Teresa Kenney said.
Kenney owns Village Books in The Woodlands. She spoke out against book bans and restrictions at that July meeting.
"You alienate people who deserve to see themselves in the pages of books," Kenney said. "People who deserve to feel hope when they may not have hope at that time."
At her bookstore, her display of challenged or banned books is popular.
"We can't keep books on them," Kenney said. "We sell out."
She carries all types of material -- any topic from the Bible to LGBTQ-themed books. Access, she said, is important. She calls the county's latest move a slippery slope.
"As a parent, you have a right to say what your child reads," Kenney said. "But you don't have the right to tell another parent what their child can or cannot read."
Despite the new restrictions, the county did approve the expansion of more politically conservative themed books, hoping to find what it calls "balance" in the library system.
Kenney said more books of all kinds is something she supports, but too many questions remain about what books will end up being restricted.
"What is objectionable? What is explicit? It needs to be really defined before they can move forward," Kenney said.
KHOU reached out to several of the key community players who support these new restrictions, but they all declined the opportunity to comment. We tried speaking with the new library director, Rhea Young, who's tasked with implementing the new changes, but so far we haven't heard back.