Ohio’s proposed ‘Natural Family Month’ faces backlash from LGBTQ parents

Over 2 dozen Ohio lawmakers are pushing a measure that designates nan weeks betwixt Mother’s Day and Father’s Day arsenic “Natural Family Month,” sparking backlash from immoderate LGBTQ families, according to reports.

State Reps. Beth Lear and Josh Williams, some Republicans, said they introduced House Bill 262 to observe families and stress their captious domiciled successful society, astatine a clip erstwhile marriages and commencement rates are declining.

“At a clip erstwhile matrimony is trending downward and young couples are often choosing to stay childless, it’s important for nan State of Ohio to make a connection that matrimony and families are nan cornerstone of civilian society, and perfectly imperative if we want to support a patient and unchangeable Republic,” Rep. Lear said successful a property release.

“With America facing declining commencement rates and a shrinking population, we tin nary longer spend to disregard nan foundational domiciled that beardown families play successful sustaining our future,” Rep. Williams besides said successful a statement.

“H.B. 262 is astir much than policy—it’s astir promoting nan economical and societal stableness that comes from raising children successful healthy, two-parent households. We must usage each instrumentality astatine our disposal to support nan families that are building nan adjacent procreation of Americans,” he added.

The measure does not specify what makes a “natural” family, but Williams told NBC News nan measure is intended to “promote earthy families—meaning a man, a woman, and their children—as a measurement to promote higher commencement rates.”

Birth rates successful nan U.S. fell to a historical low in 2023, according to a study by nan CDC published past year.

The CDC precocious reported that commencement rates accrued by 1% successful 2023, which “drove a little than 1% summation successful nan wide fertility rate.”

Some matrimony rates person besides knowledgeable a downward displacement complete nan past fewer decades. The Pew Research Center reported that nan number of 40-year-olds successful nan U.S. who person ne'er been married reached a grounds high in 2021.

But nan measure was criticized by nan LGBTQ community, according to reports by WLWT5 and NBC News.

Ohio resident Vanessa Melendez, who identifies arsenic lesbian, is simply a joined mother of 2 who lives pinch her wife, adopted daughter, and stepson from a erstwhile marriage, successful College Hill.

Melendez deed nan Ohio lawmakers for utilizing nan connection “natural” successful their pro-family bill, saying it excludes families for illustration hers, and others who person adopted, conceived done IVF, aliases are raising children without a partner.

“The elephant successful nan room connected really they’ve positioned it is connected nan connection ‘natural,'” Melendez told WLWT5. “And I deliberation that what they’re saying is if there’s only 1 measurement to beryllium a earthy family, and that’s wholly not true.”

“They’re really coming aft it astatine a very narrow, exclusionary way, and they’re only giving a explanation of 1 type of family,” Melendez added. “We don’t want to return distant from that 1 type of family, but location are truthful galore different kinds of families.”

Williams defended nan measure to NBC News, saying nan measure is not meant to beryllium discriminatory but is intended to support nan family building that’s “most straight tied to nan creation and raising of children.”

“By that aforesaid logic that each families should beryllium celebrated,” Williams besides told WLWT5. “You could spell past to June and opportunity we shouldn’t person Pride Month because each intersexual predisposition should beryllium celebrated, not conscionable those that are replacement to nan mainstream.”

Williams, who is Black, was raised by a azygous mother, grew up successful poverty, and knowledgeable homelessness, and based on that fatherlessness has had antagonistic effects connected nan Black community. 

“And we cognize nan statistic that show that that results successful a higher complaint of poverty, a higher complaint of dropping retired of school, a higher rate, a higher complaint of being connected nationalist assistance, a higher complaint of engaging successful criminal conduct,” he told WLWT5.

Williams and Lear did not instantly return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.