The Wells Branch Community Library in North Austin debated a first amendment issue Sunday.
Library board member Phil Pringle wanted OUT Magazine pulled from the shelves. Pringle said he found the magazine for gay men and women offensive.
"I feel like, to a certain degreee, by having the magazine here that we are kind of condoning and rubber stamping homosexual behavior," Pringle said.
But library board members say the issue isn't about homosexuality. They say it's an issue of censorship, and point to a long list of library user e-mails that support keeping the magazine on the shelves.
"It's not about content, and it's not about viewpoint. There should be something here to represent everyone. It's not my business whether anyone thinks it's right or wrong," library director Donita Carlquista said.
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OUT stays in
The Wells Branch Community Library said pulling a magazine would be censorship.
 
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Despite the highly charged comments, in the end, the board decided not to pull the magazine.
"I'd at least settle, I'd be happy at least if we could take those magazines and put them somewhere where minors can't get to them," Pringle said.
In response to that request, the library board said its job is not to parent kids. Members say that's up to the parents to do and point out that a special children's section was created for that purpose.
This is the first time the Wells Branch Community Library was faced with this issue. It opened in 1998 in a strip shopping center and later moved to its current, free-standing location.
