The Cumberland City Council in Western Sydney has reversed its ban on a children's book depicting same-sex parents with a 12-2 vote.

The vote led to confrontations between protestors for and against the ban outside the council meeting.

Over 42,000 people signed a petition against the ban, highlighting the community's opposition to censorship in libraries.

The NSW Arts Minister warned the council that the ban could negatively impact their library funding and encouraged them to reconsider the policy.

Critics of the ban argue that it perpetuates outdated stereotypes and bigotry, and attempts to erase the visibility of diverse family structures from public libraries.

The NSW government is assessing the impact of the council's initial ban on state-provided library funding.

The controversy has ignited a wider debate on the freedom of access to information and has been labeled as 'extremely homophobic behavior' by advocates within the community.