Worker says she lost job over Harry Potter dispute

Kansas City Star ^ | 5/27/08

[Santa Fe_Conservative]

ST. LOUIS | The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the city of Poplar Bluff after a library worker claims she was disciplined for failing to work at an event to promote a Harry Potter book. Anthony Rothert with the ACLU in St. Louis says the woman, Deborah Smith, is a Southern Baptist who believes the Harry Potter series popularizes witchcraft and the practice of the occult. He says she was suspended without pay for 10 days when she refused to work at a library event on July 21, 2007, for the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” He says Smith, who has a pacemaker, was given arduous tasks, like emptying out a book drop-off box, upon her return, and quit on her doctor’s recommendation. He says the lawsuit filed in federal court in Cape Girardeau Tuesday alleges violations of her civil and First Amendment rights and seeks unspecified damages. There was no immediate response from Poplar Bluff’s attorney.

[Santa Fe_Conservative]

Interesting the ACLU is stepping in...like a broken clock I guess...

[BradyLS]

I dunno. If you work in a library, I don’t understand how taking and sorting books out of the book drop-off box can be in any way arduous or outside of the scope of your duties. Seems to me it would be a part of the job.

[Dilbert San Diego]

The ACLU gets involved sometimes on the side of Christians, to attempt to prove that they are unbiased.

The ACLU is actually concerned about their public image. They need cases such as this to balance things out. Otherwise, people would associate them with gay rights, abortion rights, trans-whatever people’s rights, cross-dresser’s rights, and elimination of any mention or display of Christianity.

[RepublitarianRoger2]

I doubt that you’d last very long as a librarian if you refused to promote or recommend books that you disagreed with or that differed from your religious views.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

On the internets:

Library employees were expected to dress as witches and wizards at a July 21, 2007, Potter book release party at the library — an after-hours event the release said. Smith asked to be excused from working that night due to her religious beliefs and was suspended for 10 days without pay.

So that is a little more info anyway.

[trumandogz]

The ACLU is on the wrong side once again.

[TYVets]

I doubt that you’d last very long as a librarian if you refused to promote or recommend books that you disagreed with or that differed from your religious views.

In the books of the Harry Potter series the students have a Christmas Break,,,(not a holiday break as it is known at many public schools).

One has to wonder why the librarian is not out protesting at public schools due to her religious views.

It sounds like she wants an early and well funded retirement courtesy of the tax payers and her "religious views".

[DryFly]

It would be terrible to be forced to dress like this, poor dear:

[napscoordinator]

He says she was suspended without pay for 10 days when she refused to work at a library event on July 21, 2007, for the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Wow! The women refuses to work and wonders why she was suspended. She should have been FIRED!!!

[Tamar1973]

I have a feeling this is closer to how they wanted her to dress (notice the lady third from the left):

[happinesswithoutpeace]

I would have to read the lawsuit itself. It looks like she is trying to say that she quit because she couldn’t handle emptying the drop off box. I wonder how many volumes would end up weekly at a drop off box for a town with a population of around 16-17 thousand. IMO- not that many. So I guess the claim is that the “empty the drop box” assignment was some sort of retaliatory measure.

Again, I would have to see the lawsuit. This seems a lot less about religion and more about whether or not she quit through any fault of her own.

[Bikkuri]

The ACLU gets involved sometimes on the side of Christians, to attempt to prove that they are unbiased. The ACLU is actually concerned about their public image. They need cases such as this to balance things out. Otherwise, people would associate them with gay rights, abortion rights, trans-whatever people’s rights, cross-dresser’s rights, and elimination of any mention or display of Christianity.

Thank you for pointing that out... I was dumbfounded why ACLU would be in the same sentence with a Christian religion on the positive side...

[CalvaryJohn]

I have to side with the ACLU and the librarian on this one. She does have religious reservations. Having said that, she needs to LIGHTEN THE HELL UP!!! It’s a work of fiction, for Pete’s sake.

[NoRedTape]

Some ACLU’ers have a lot of free time.

[ViLaLuz]

The ONLY reason the ACLU is filing suit is because they’ve determined the city of Poplar Bluff is profitable.

[loboinok]

I have to side with the ACLU and the librarian on this one. She does have religious reservations. Having said that, she needs to LIGHTEN THE HELL UP!!! It’s a work of fiction, for Pete’s sake.

Doesn't appear to me (from the article) that Ms. Smith has any "religious reservations" whatsoever.

The librarian may have deemed Ms. Smith's beliefs to be based on a book, which the librarian believes to be a "work of fiction", but the constitution doesn't give the librarian authority to deny Ms. Smith her right to freedom of religion, conscience and association.

The librarian is using her authority to compel another to support his/her opposing view, without showing it to be a legitimate function of the library.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Here we go again.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

If they wanted me to dress like the lady on the left they would not have had to fire me, I would have quit.