Australians divided after a Western Sydney council banned books about same-sex parents from its libraries

Australians are divided after a Western Sydney council banned books about same-sex parents from its libraries.

Cumberland City Council, which covers a population of about 240,000 people living near Parramatta, narrowly voted in May to “take immediate action to remove same-sex parent books and materials from the council’s library service.”

The motion was adopted by six votes to five.

During the debate, former mayor and current councilor Steve Christou held up a photo of a book called Same-Sex Parents by author Holly Duhig, which he said had sparked complaints from his constituents.

The book features a homosexual couple and their young son on the cover.

“One parent texted me to say ‘Please take this crap off the shelves’, with a screenshot of the book,” added Cr. Christou added. “This isn’t Marrickville or Newtown.

‘We are talking about a demographic group in which 62 percent of the population was originally born abroad.

‘They have very deeply held conservative family and religious values, regardless of their religion, whether it is Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic or Hindu.

Christou said the community was tired of left-wing initiatives being infiltrated.

What do residents think of the book ban?

Muslim woman Naz, 30, is in favor of withdrawing the book because it could be too “overwhelming” for young children.

“It’s difficult to tackle these topics because it’s very sensitive for everyone,” she said.

‘Children need to be exposed to everything over time, but they need to be protected to develop the skills to understand these things first.

‘The content around this is changing so quickly that ten years ago most of us didn’t know there were more than two genders.

‘As a Muslim woman and mother-to-be, I can understand why young mothers would want to protect their children from this – especially how this works with our Islamic beliefs and culture.’

Although Naz believed that education should be available to children, she believes that timing is crucial.

She said the concepts of gender and sexuality can be difficult for children to understand.

‘For a child raised in this environment, it can be difficult to understand what a boy or a girl is.

“Then they are faced with the option of choosing their gender, and then they have to decide who they are attracted to,” she said.

‘I can accept and understand this concept, but for a six-year-old it would be very difficult.’

Craig, who lives in Regents Park, told Daily Mail Australia the council “shouldn’t be involved” in deciding what parents let their children read.

‘There are all different types of people here; Families can think whatever they want,” he said.

Adriana, 32, from Cumberland, said the electorate has a high concentration of Muslim believers, who often have “really strong” opinions about the LGBTQ+ community.

“I haven’t seen the book and don’t know the contents, but I don’t think it’s fair if the council just decided to withdraw it,” she said.

“If there’s really strong negative feedback, I can understand that, but it’s not fair.”

Shashank, 28, agreed, saying, “It is not right for the council to decide.

‘Children need to learn these things, so banning the book is not a good idea.

‘Parents have the first right to make decisions about their children.’

Belma, 61, said if parents are concerned about their children’s exposure to sexuality, the community library should be the least of their concerns.

“You hear little kids talking about sex, but it’s not any book’s fault, it’s the internet,” she said.

‘You can’t just delete books, you have to delete the phones.

“I am Muslim and there would be Muslims who would be very angry about the book,” she said.

‘But children need to get to know these relationships. It’s not good for them to learn it when they’re already dating.’

Another Cumberland resident, 26-year-old Angel, said that while there are “a few religions” in the area, “everyone should be entitled to their own opinion.”