Hundreds of protesters have clashed in a tense standoff over a council’s controversial decision to ban same-sex parenting books from its libraries.
There were fiery scenes outside Cumberland Council and in the chamber in Sydney’s west on Wednesday night, where councilors debated whether to overturn the ban.
Dozens of police officers stationed at the station across the borough had to intervene and keep the large crowd apart.
The issue has divided the community; one group is angry about the ban on a book about same-sex families, while the other group is outraged by the subsequent attempts to overturn the ban.
Local grandmother Caroline Staples has led a campaign urging the council to overturn the ban. Nearly 41,000 people signed a petition in support of her plan, which was presented to city council members on Wednesday evening.
‘We are diverse, we are different, we can sit around the table and come together around shared values. And not surprisingly, given what we have behind us, they are terrified. They are terrified in their own community,” she said 7News.
There was a tense standoff between opposing groups of protesters (pictured) outside the Cumberland Council chambers in Sydney’s west on Wednesday evening.
The protesters (pictured) are kept apart by a heavy police presence due to the emotional issue that has increased tensions in the area and across the city
Local religious leaders were also present to address council members.
Cumberland Council has faced a huge amount of criticism locally, across Australia and from around the world since the ban was passed a fortnight ago
Ms Staples said if the council does not overturn the ban it will take on the NSW government.
She also investigates whether the community’s human rights have been violated.
Backed by national LGBT+ group Equality Australia (EA), she presented two petitions to the council.
The first was an EA petition with 40,861 signatures, including 2,194 Cumberland residents.
Another 10,065 people have signed a petition on change.org.
Ms. Staples, who lives nearby, is a mother of four and grandmother in what she called “a rainbow family.”
She said the book that prompted the ban, which is called Same-Sex Parents and features two men and a child on the cover, is a “carefully crafted, completely age-appropriate children’s book.”
“We must repeal this ban,” she said, to loud cheers of both support and opposition from the public gallery.
Councilor Steve Christou, who put forward the amendment “that the council take immediate action to remove same-sex parent books/materials from the council’s library service,” questioned Ms Staples.
‘How many people haven’t signed the petition? That’s all,” he asked.
He later asked Ms Staples about her history of left-wing politics and she admitted she worked part-time for NSW Labor MP Lynda Voltz, but said: “I’m here because I’ve lived here for 40 years.”
Deputy Mayor Ola Hamed accused Mr Christou, a former mayor, of “cheap political point scoring” over his support for the ban on same-sex parenting books.
“Here we are dealing with yet another time-wasting distraction from Councilor Christou, one that is hateful and divisive… All in the name of cheap political point-scoring,” she said.
Mr Christou said his life has been threatened over this issue.
‘People approached me and gave their opinion. “I’ve received death threats, I’ve been abused, my family has been abused… they don’t deserve that.”
Former mayor and current councilor Steve Christou (pictured) has tabled the amendment ‘that the council take immediate action to remove same-sex parent books/materials from the council’s library service’
A woman opposed to the book ban is pictured at a protest in Sydney’s west on Wednesday evening
Supporters of the same-sex book ban are pictured at the protest outside Cumberland Council offices
Protesters are pictured at a meeting of rival factions in Sydney’s west on Wednesday evening
Wei Thai-Haynes, from the Pride in Protest organisation, said the group is “deeply outraged” by the council’s actions to ban same-sex books from its libraries.
“Children will commit suicide because of… your actions,” she said.
‘You should be ashamed.’
Mayor Lisa Lake warned those in the public gallery to calm down and allow people to speak without interruptions.
“Gallery, I will make you leave,” she said. “Sorry, but I can’t organize a meeting if people are yelling at me in the stands.”
Mohamad Hussein, the only Labor councilor to vote in favor of the ban, which passed by a vote of six to five, told the meeting: “It is no secret that my decision has sparked criticism and opposition.”
‘As a devout Muslim, I have strong religious beliefs that guide my actions and decisions. I respect individuals’ choices to live their lives as they see it.
“I would like to bring to the attention of the vast majority of residents the strong religious beliefs of our LGA. Mine is not an isolated vision, but one shared by a significant part of our local community.
‘It goes against the values of Islamic education. As a councilor, it is my duty to represent the values of my community and I cannot in good conscience support something that conflicts with my religious beliefs.”
He added: “This is not a war against you,” referring to the LGBT community.
A petition for Equality Australia with 40,861 signatures was presented to council. Demonstrators are depicted
Local religious leaders (pictured) were also present to address council members
Independent councilor Eddy Sarkis said he had read the book and had no problem with it, but it still made him uncomfortable as a Catholic.
“I would find it somewhat difficult to sit there and say to my child, ‘This is normal,'” he said.
“I couldn’t do that and I wouldn’t want to put any other parent in that position.”
He said the gay book’s place “is not in the children’s section, but perhaps in the teen or adult section.”