As some members of Alabama’s state library board moved to further limit materials addressing what they called “gender ideology,” another member called their motivations into question.

“I’m afraid that Alabama Public Library Service is being used as a platform to boost your own positions to the detriment of the libraries of this state,” said Ron Snider, the former president of the board.

He referenced board member Amy Minton’s current run for state Senate and rumors of chairman John Wahl’s intention to enter a political race.

“While you make an elegant statement that you’re not in favor of censorship, in fact, what you have done and what the majority of this board is supporting is censorship.”

Minton didn’t respond to Snider’s comment.

“Thank you for your comment,” Wahl replied.

Snider also said he was not notified about a recent meeting rescheduling and that he didn’t receive a copy of a letter Wahl sent to library directors Wednesday.

Wahl told Alabama libraries he would prohibit them from having materials in their collections pertaining to what he called “gender ideology.” He said that a failure to comply with his directive and President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on gender ideology would jeopardize their funding.

Wahl did not define what he means by “gender ideology,” a charged term. The phrase is “commonly deployed by anti-trans commentators and activists that implies trans people, merely by being trans, are participating in a political activity or have a political agenda,” according to the Trans Journalists Association.

The board voted to discuss further restrictions on gender ideology from the teen and children’s sections of libraries by starting the process of changing the library state code.

Minton proposed at the May meeting to restrict children from reading “any library material that encourages, promotes or contains positive portrayals of transgender procedures, gender ideology or the concept of more than two genders.”

Minton advanced this proposal in response to Alabama’s new “What is a Woman” state law.

The last library code change occurred in March when Gov. Kay Ivey mandated libraries must relocate “sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth.”

Local libraries, including the Huntsville-Madison Public Library, are now figuring out how to implement those changes.

The state change generated more than 6,000 public comments, according to Wahl.

Snider was the sole “No” vote to starting a new code change process for books that promote “gender ideology.”

The public comment portion of the meeting was again dominated by Alabamians who said they support free speech, allowing librarians to make decisions regarding content and keeping LGBTQ books in the children’s and teen sections.

“Several groups seek to control library content by banning books containing transgender issues,” Jackie Nix said. “Banning books does not serve the community at large. Additionally, banning transgender and or LGBTQ topics from libraries erodes rights and equality and can lead to banning people, and that resembles fascism.”

Sarah Sanchez with Clean Up Alabama praised the board’s efforts to protect children.

“Safeguarding children in libraries from harmful and sexually explicit content is not censorship,” Sanchez said. “It’s responsible governance supported by legal precedent.”

The next public library board meeting is Sept. 18.