Same sex parents
Pixabay

A Sydney council decided to prohibit books regarding same-sex parenting from local libraries-- a decision that caused an uproar.

The New South Wales government has expressed concerns about this decision made by the Cumberland City Council, claiming it may violate anti-discrimination rules. The controversial amendment was proposed by current council member and former mayor Steve Christou, who called for "immediate action" to "rid" the library service of "same-sex parents books and materials," The Guardian reported.

He showed the book "Same-Sex Parents," which he said disturbed parents, as proof. A marriage between two parents and a child is shown in the novel. The council barely approved Christou's proposal with six votes in favor and five against, despite a few abstentions.

"We're going to make it clear tonight that ... these kind of books, same-sex parents books, don't find their way to our kids," Christou said during the debate. "Our kids shouldn't be sexualized.

There was a lot of opposition to the plan. It was referred to as "book burning" by Councillor Diane Colman, who maintained that every family should have representation.

"It's a sweet little book," she told ABC.net.au, "written specifically for children with same-sex parents, so they know that their parents are okay, that their families are okay." Legal director Ghassan Kassisieh of Equality Australia added his voice as well, stressing the value of libraries that are a reflection of everyone's life. He maintained that stocking children's books by same-sex couples contributes to libraries being genuinely inclusive establishments.

"Councils should offer services to all people in their local community without discrimination," they said.

"They should not be canceling rainbow families — or anyone — off their library shelves."

The move follows the Sydney, Australia-based Cumberland City Council's earlier-year controversy-causing ban on drag queen storytime activities at its facilities. The meeting was supported by hundreds of residents who came to support the ban. Now, the council has sparked even another controversy by deciding to take same-sex parenting literature out of their libraries.