A motion put forward by Cumberland City Councillor and former mayor Steve Christou to ban same-sex parenting books from Council libraries has passed.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the motion at Cumberland City Council was passed six votes to five, and prompted an angry NSW government to threaten a review of its library funding.
During a meeting last Wednesday, Christou put forward the amendment “that council take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council’s library service.”
When speaking, Christou held up a book titled Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, which he said his constituents had complained about. The book is part of a series depicting diverse family structures for a younger audience. It features two men and a child on the front cover.
Christou rejected suggestions the ban was discriminatory, but instead told the Herald that books concerning same-sex parenting were sexualising young children.
“Don’t open up our children to any form of sexualisation… Children are innocent and should be allowed to enjoy appropriate story reading time in their libraries without being burdened by issues of sexualisation,” he said.
Mayor Lisa Lake voted against the motion.
A spokesperson for Cumberland City Council did not say if the ban would include all books featuring same-sex parents, or just those aimed at children.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
