Actor and professing Christian Kirk Cameron hosted his controversial “See You at the Library” event over the weekend. The Alabama-based Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System initially canceled the event, citing security and capacity concerns, but rescheduled it following complaints.
On Saturday, Cameron and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines read from their books as part of the “See You at the Library Day” book-reading event sponsored by Moms For Liberty, CBN News reported.
“What a great reading at the library today! Thank you, Kirk Cameron, for joining us,” Moms For Liberty – Alabama wrote on Facebook.
Brave Books told Fox News that Cameron’s stop on Saturday was his first as part of his national tour of over 260 libraries in 46 states. Meanwhile, police arrested a group of protestors who attempted to sabotage the book event.
Additionally, a second book-reading event was held at Huntsville’s The Rock Church, which had initially offered its facilities after the library canceled the book reading. During the event at the church, hundreds of attendees showed up and sang songs, recited the Pledge of Allegiance, heard Gaines speak, and heard Cameron read from his Brave Book title, Pride Comes Before The Fall.
Cameron and Gaines have spoken at similar events at the Hendersonville Public Library in Hendersonville, TN, and the Taylor Public Library in Taylor, Texas, near Austin.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, the library reversed its decision last Thursday of the cancellation after the First Liberty Institute, representing Cameron and his publisher, Brave Books, issued a letter calling for a reversal.
“Upon learning that Mr. Cameron and his friend and Brave Books author, Riley Gaines, will be attending in person, you abruptly canceled the event citing ‘security concerns’ from a potential protest of Mr. Cameron and claiming the event exceeds the library’s capacity,” wrote First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys in the letter.
He added that the library’s refusal to change course would be seen as “unlawful and unconstitutional religious viewpoint and content discrimination in violation of the Alabama Constitution and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
On Friday, the library announced that it had withdrawn its initial cancellation, and the book-reading event proceeded as scheduled on Saturday.
Related:
Alabama Library Reverses Cancellation of Kirk Cameron, Riley Gaines Book Event
Alabama Library Under Fire after Canceling Kirk Cameron Book Event
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Xu wu
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.