Don Tillema, a supervisor in Byron Township, Michigan, threatened to pull taxpayer funding for Kent District Libraries and turn its Caledonia branch into a shoe store at a September 27 board meeting. At issue was the graphic novel Check, Please, which a 10-year-old pulled from a teen shelf over the summer; the child’s mother complained about the book, which concerns a young gay hockey player. KDL Executive Director Lance Werner said the book is protected by the US Constitution and would not be removed. Byron Township Clerk Peggy Sattler later clarified that Tillema’s remark about funding was “off the cuff” and that the library is safe.