A popular college swimmer and women’s rights activist is speaking out after Madison Library cancelled a Mom’s for Liberty event scheduled for Saturday.
Riley Gaines is scheduled to be one of the featured guests for the “See you at the library” gathering with actor Kirk Cameron.
However, the Madison Public Library said Thursday it will not be able to host Saturday’s Moms for Liberty Brave Books event due to space limitations.
Mom’s for Liberty responded by making alternate plans if needed, but also warned the library that they may face legal repercussions if it fails to accommodate the event, according to a law firm representing Brave Books and Cameron.
Gaines told WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” that unfortunately this is not the first time venues have tried to prevent her from speaking.
“It’s just crazy,” Gaines said. “I think it’s a true testament to where we are as a society…it’s people looking for ways to say no, looking for ways to hinder these underlying messages of virtue really being spread to children. And you have to ask yourself the question: ‘Why do they so desperately not want the children to hear the message of the gospel and the message of good virtue?’”
Gaines said she’s experienced pushback in places that she thought were safe for her message.
“[Y]ou don’t think it happens here,” she said. “Being in Tennessee, being in Alabama, or in Texas, or Florida. I think we tend to think we’re safe from a lot of the cultural issues that seem to be plaguing America, but we’re not, and I think we were reminded of that.”
She also discussed the issues she’s had speaking at colleges and universities.
“I’ve been met with protests. I’ve had paid protesters protest me. I’ve been assaulted, I’ve been held for ransom for over three and a half hours,” she said. “I’ve been set for Harvard this fall and they’ve already emailed back and said ‘sorry, the entire month of September and October, we have no room for you anywhere.’ So I see it all the time.”
Gaines said despite some of the backlash by some, she’s grateful for the amount of support she receives on a daily basis.
“The support is tenfold compared to the negative,” she said. “And I think that’s what people don’t see. You don’t see the support. You’ll often believe the lies that the media said that it’s cancel culture we live in, but the support is tenfold. And a lot of it is private unfortunately, but I think people are becoming more bold, they’re becoming more empowered to say so publicly.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
