Hundreds of people are set to rally against a western Sydney council's decision to ban books featuring same-sex parenting, a choice they say does not reflect the views of the community.
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Cumberland City Council, which covers a population of about 240,000 people living near Parramatta, narrowly voted in May to "take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council's library service".
The ban has placed the council's funding under threat and prompted the state body in charge of administering anti-discrimination laws to voice its "deep concern".
Protesters will meet outside council chambers in Merrylands during their next meeting on Wednesday night.
Rally organisers are calling for the council to rescind the ban and for NSW Premier Chris Minns to expel Labor council members who support the bans.
"We reject the idea that western Sydney is a hub of bigots who support these homophobic bans," Pride in Protest spokeswoman Wei Thai-Haynes said on Tuesday.
"This is an attempt by the far right to force queer people out of public life, and NSW Labor are helping it happen."
Ms Thai-Haynes said books that depicted rainbow families, or drag performers reading stories, were "a normal part of life and not 'indoctrination' or 'sexualising children'".
Organisers also condemned Labor councillors they say have "kowtowed to such bigotry, either by openly voting for it or by abstaining".
"The last week has been full of condemnation from elected Labor representatives ... it is time for them to act unless they wish to make Cumberland a testing ground for culture wars."
Anti-Discrimination NSW president Helen McKenzie said diversity should be represented in the books available to the community.
"For rainbow families living in the Cumberland council area, this is a hurtful and divisive act which impacts them and their children," she told reporters last week.
NSW Arts Minister John Graham said banning books was a bad sign for civilisations, adding local councillors should not engage in censorship.
"We are examining the consequences this decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the NSW government," he said.
Five copies of the book A Focus On: Same Sex Parents have been in the council's libraries since 2019.
It's part of a series that aims to inform children about "difficult realities" and "healthy ways for children to process and understand them".
The councillor who put forward the motion, former mayor Steve Christou, said the community wanted the book banned.
"I'm only representing the values of our community and what the majority of people are telling us ... we're not marginalising anyone here," he said.
Australian Associated Press
