Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for a western Sydney council to reverse a controversial decision to ban same-sex parenting books from its libraries.
Cumberland City Council has faced pressure from the public, as well as state and federal politicians, after passing the ban on May 1.
Local grandmother Caroline Staples said more than 50,000 people have signed petitions, calling for council to rescind the ban.
Staples said her bid to reverse the ban was backed by peak bodies like the Australian Library and Information Association, Early Childhood Australia and Equality Australia.
“The book banners have demonstrated they don’t care about the wellbeing and safety of our children and families,” she said.
“I’m optimistic that now councillors have had a chance to reflect on the consequences of their decision they will reject this divisive move.”
At least 40,000 people have signed a petition by Equality Australia petition, including 2,194 from within Cumberland postcodes. Another 10,065 have signed a change.org petition, with the petitions to be presented to council together.
The book, titled Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, is one of the books that council removed from its libraries.
Equality Australia Legal Director Ghassan Kassisieh said the book was part of a series about different types of families.
“The attempt to erase these loving families from library shelves is importing the worst of American-style culture wars and doesn’t reflect what modern Australia looks like or wants,” he said.
“People should be able to go to their public library and find books that represent their families. If someone doesn’t like what’s in a book, they don’t have to borrow it.”
“We’ve had consistent complaints on these kind of books and similar issues infiltrating our libraries from local residents,” he said.
Council will vote on a motion to alter or remove the amendment to the Cumberland Library Strategy at the next council meeting tonight.
