The Cumberland City Council has voted to overturn a ban on same-sex parenting books in Western Sydney’s libraries.
The ban was introduced earlier this month after Councillor Steve Christou received complaints from “distraught” parents regarding Holly Duhig’s book, Same-Sex Parents.
“We hope to implement a policy that these kind of books, same-sex parenting books, do not find their way to our kids,” he said.
“Our community doesn’t want this and I never want these on our library shelves.”
After a four-hour debate on Wednesday evening, the council overturned its decision with an overwhelming 12-2 vote to reinstate same-sex parenting books.
An online petition to Call on Cumberland Council was made in response to the Library Strategy 2024-2027. This would ban books featuring same-sex parents from their public libraries, calling for a more inclusive government.
Two opposing protesting groups clashed outside of the council chambers while the meeting was taking place. One group protested for the local LGBTQIA+ community and the other was demanding the protection of children.
This is the scene at Cumberland Council this evening – there’s still almost an hour until the meeting begins. pic.twitter.com/lkxlKarwyX
— Anthony Segaert (@anthonysegaert) May 15, 2024
One man opposing the same-sex parenting book wore a shirt that said “Stay away from our children,” while another held up a sign saying “Pee off back to Newtown”.
Protesters in favour of the reinstatement were photographed holding signs saying “Bigotry has no place in Cumberland,” and “No hate in our libraries, we are all welcome”.
The Australian Library and Information Association said that the ban was “not acceptable and must be reversed”.
The book will be available to borrow again from the children’s section of Cumberland’s public libraries.
Photo: Cumberland Council Book Ban protest dueling Queer vs Anti-same sex protests supplied by Chriscoveries. You can follow his on Twitter @Chriscoveries. This image has not been modified.
