County Judge Orders Removal of Transgender Literature Display at Public Library

“The amount of hatred…is unbelievable.” – VVC Judge Lewis Owens

Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens made the decision, Tuesday November 18, 2025, to order the removal of a Transgender literature display at the Val Verde County Library commemorating the internationally celebrated ‘Transgender Day of Remembrance’. The next day, however, Owens reversed course and allowed the display to be restored, but would flip again by Saturday and order its disassembly a final time. A local LGBTQ group, Del Rio SAFE, met on Wednesday to discuss possible plans of action, believing Judge Owens’ orders to the library to be viewpoint discrimination, which is a violation of the 1st Amendment.

But new information arose Friday evening when Del Rio News Network met with a leading member of DR SAFE, Miguel Garcia, outside the Library to speak about the group’s perspective. During the interview with Garcia, Judge Owens serendipitously arrived to the library, making for a chance interaction between the two figureheads, who had never met or spoken to each other before then.

During the interaction between Garcia and Owens, DRN learned that Judge Owens’ decision to remove the LGBT-themes from view involved the attorney for Val Verde County, David Martinez’s, verification of its legality. Owens insists the actions of his office ultimately were legal, and intends to share documentation proving so with Garcia.

Garcia says this information “changes the narrative” of the situation and that he’ll reconsider what action DR SAFE, which stands for Sexual Advocacy for Everyone, shall take on the matter.

In Wednesday’s DR SAFE meeting, when the judge’s orders were still thought be illegal by Garcia, he announced the advocacy group’s correspondence with the ACLU of Texas and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for legal backing, should it become necessary, for the autonomy of decision making of public library staff in Texas. Members were also encouraged by former Del Rio mayor Bruno Lozano, who attended the DR SAFE meeting and identifies as gay, to attend both Val Verde County commissioner court meetings and City of Del Rio council meetings to voice their concerns about the then-perceived overreach of authority.

Garcia tells DRN that DR SAFE will reassess their actionable approach after the legal implications of the Judge’s actions remain uncertain.

Also discussed during Garcia’s and Owens interaction on Friday, and again on Saturday in a public statement made by Owens, was the Judge’s experience of the hatred directed toward the LGBT community from citizens who opposed the literature display. Owens says he “had never seen such hatred”, including threats of violence, over a topic during his time in public service. In a post to social media [view post], Judge Owens stated, “The amount of hatred on this topic is unbelievable, and I hope at some point we become better than what we are.”

Owens has stated he personally does not believe that government buildings should encourage people to be transgender. Garcia says this is a misunderstanding of the meaning of the display, which he says shares a deeper idea about coexistence and understanding. Garcia feels messages of cooperation are needed in places like Del Rio, which is situated in rural Texas, a region known for generally conservative ideas.

“An open display of queer and trans literature is […] a form of visibility, safety, and acknowledgement in a city where we have very few spaces to simply exist as ourselves,” Garcia tells DRN. “The books were there to honor trans lives.”

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is an internationally observed memorial day for trans people who have been murdered because of hatred and violence, also known as ‘transphobia’.

The number of citizens who voiced their opposition of the LGBT book display to Judge Owens remains unclear at this time. 19 LGBT advocates were present at DR SAFE’s meeting on Wednesday.