Two protesters offended by a Pride exhibit at the Rancho Peñasquitos Library have checked out nearly all the books in the display and vowed to keep them until the library eliminates what they call “inappropriate content” for children.

The anti-gay protest is the latest example of a growing national backlash against Pride exhibits, which experts say has been fueled by debates over how schools and healthcare systems should handle transgender minors.

The Rancho Peñasquitos protest ratchets up the usual backlash San Diego library branches experience when they create Pride exhibits or host events like drag queen story times, said head librarian Misty Jones.

“It’s gotten progressively worse in the last five years,” Jones said Wednesday. “This is definitely a new one for us.”

The protesters, Peñasquitos residents Amy Vance and Martha Martin, said libraries are open, public spaces for children that should be free of references to gender identity and how adults experience sexual attraction….

Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, whose district includes Rancho Peñasquitos, said she is working with nonprofit and civic groups to raise enough money to quickly replace the 14 books the protesters checked out.

They include The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, Rainbow Parade by Emily Neilson, Gay Rights by Tina Kafka, Goldenboy by Michael Nava, Wild Things by Karin Kallmaker and Pride: An Inspirational History of the LGBTQ+ Movement by Stella Caldwell.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune