Despite Cancelations, Threats, and Protests, Kirk Cameron’s Book Tour Remains Undeterred
Upon learning of an upcoming Kirk Cameron book tour stop at a Washington, D.C. public library on March 29, LGBT activists launched a campaign to try to have the event shut down. So far, however, the event is still scheduled to proceed as planned, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Washington Stand.
This latest kerfuffle is one of many that have surrounded the Brave Books’ Freedom Island Tour, a nationwide book tour at public libraries and other venues featuring “Growing Pains” actor Kirk Cameron reading his children’s book “As You Grow.” Touted as a book tour “to win back Story Hour and stand up for truth and Biblical values,” the tour also features “Jack Posobiec, author of The Island of Free Ice Cream about the ills of communism, Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, author of No More Secrets, about the importance of parents keeping lines of communication open with their children” as well as Brave Books founder Trent Talbot and Sean Spicer.
The tour has also drawn the attention of public figures fighting to keep biological men out of women’s sports, including former University of Kentucky swim champion Riley Gaines and champion surfer Bethany Hamilton, who were featured at a stop in Henderson, Tenn. in February. The tour has also welcomed “Duck Dynasty” star Missy Robertson.
“The mission of Brave Books equips young children with the tools and spirit to fight the very real war being waged for the hearts and minds of the next generation,” Gaines told The Post Millennial. “I am honored to be a part of restoring sanity, common sense, and morals to a nation that needs these so desperately.”
Inspiration for the book tour came to Cameron after he finished “As You Grow” last December and witnessed the phenomenon of Drag Queen Story Hours happening across the country. According to Talbot, Cameron came to him with the idea of going into predominately liberal areas of the country and offering a different message to counter the sexualized imagery that children are often exposed to at drag queen events.
When Brave Books began contacting public libraries to schedule their story hour events, they were initially stonewalled, Talbot noted, with “zero out of 54 libraries respond[ing] to us. … Some of them actively said, ‘No, this does not line up with our values. We’re not going to host you.’ … [In response], we threatened to file a First Amendment lawsuit against some of these libraries. Finally, they backed down.”
So far, the stops have received an overwhelmingly positive response, typically drawing hundreds of people per event. A recent stop in Fayetteville, Ark. drew an estimated 500 people, as well as a few demonstrators dressed in drag.
Other event stops have created more drama, with the staff of a library in Hendersonville, Tenn. intentionally creating disruptions during an attempted filming of a promotional video by Cameron and Robertson. The incident resulted in the firing of the library director. Still, Cameron later reported that “an OVERFLOW crowd of families, mayors, county commissioners, and celebs” came to the event.
At least one book tour event scheduled for March 19 in New York City was canceled due to threats of “unsafe behavior.”
Still, Cameron has made it clear that protests and threats will not stop the book tour from rolling on.
“An arthritic flea could more reasonably stop a stampede of wild elephants running to a mud bath than a few sad, misguided individuals can stop the tidal wave of good families streaming in to join our fun, faith-filled, wholesome and patriotic Brave Books Story Hours,” he told Human Events. “Early RSVPs are in: Party-poopers will be outnumbered 100 to 1. See you at the library!”
At least eight more book tour stops are currently scheduled after the March 29 event in the nation’s capital.
Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.