State Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, wants to know how the staff at the Daniel Boone Regional Library planned Saturday’s LGBTQ+ themed reading event for toddlers and preschoolers.
Brattin filed a state open records request for any records, documents and communications dating back to Jan. 1, 2025, regarding the organization and planning of the “Rainbow Story Time” event.
Brattin, who is running for Congress in the Aug. 4 Republican primary, sent the request to the library’s executive director, Robin Westphal. The request includes seven sections asking for information including employee contracts, communication that ensured no laws were going to be violated and any ads that were used to prevent parents from “understanding the nature of the event.”
“Parents deserve to know what programs aimed at toddlers and preschoolers involve before bringing their children,” Brattin said in a news release. “Because this event was hosted by a publicly funded library, taxpayers also deserve to know how it was planned and funded.”
At the event, story leaders read two books, including “Rainbowsaurus” by Steve Antony, which tells the tale of one family’s quest to find the Rainbowsaurus. The other book was “Big Wig” by Jonathan Hillman, a story involving a child who decides to dress in drag when participating in a neighborhood costume competition as B. B. Bedazzle.
Mitzi St. John, the library’s public relations director, said the staff received Brattin’s request late Friday — the day before the event took place — and plans to follow the proper requirements to satisfy it.
“All the years I’ve been here, (records requests) have been few and far between,” St. John said. “We try to keep good records and be transparent. We have all the records they’re requesting.”
Government bodies, such as the library, have no more than three business days to fulfill records requests unless there is reasonable cause expressed, according to the Missouri Sunshine Law.
The records request came amid a flurry of backlash to the event from other state officials.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sent a letter Thursday reminding the library’s staff on Missouri’s laws protecting children from pornographic material, adding she would take appropriate action if the event violated them.
Hanaway’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
On Friday, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins threatened in a letter that he’d work to strip the library’s funding if the “Rainbow Story Time” continued as planned.
“Please be advised if this inappropriate endeavor for children takes place, I will do everything in my power to block every dollar of state and federal funding I can from future events at the Daniel Boone Library System,” Hoskins’ letter stated.
Hoskins will continue to “give the situation the serious attention it deserves” and is “considering all his options,” according to an email sent Monday by Communications Director Anne Marie Moy.
“The Secretary has received a lot of support from fellow Missourians and elected officials for his strong stance against grooming children,” the email read.
