Latest news with #BethLear
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Ohio's proposed ‘Natural Family Month' faces backlash from LGBTQ parents
Over two dozen Ohio lawmakers are pushing a bill that designates the weeks between Mother's Day and Father's Day as 'Natural Family Month,' sparking backlash from some LGBTQ families, according to reports. State Reps. Beth Lear and Josh Williams, both Republicans, said they introduced House Bill 262 to celebrate families and emphasize their critical role in society, at a time when marriages and birth rates are declining. Advertisement 'At a time when marriage is trending downward and young couples are often choosing to remain childless, it's important for the State of Ohio to make a statement that marriage and families are the cornerstone of civil society, and absolutely imperative if we want to maintain a healthy and stable Republic,' Rep. Lear said in a press release. 'With America facing declining birth rates and a shrinking population, we can no longer afford to ignore the foundational role that strong families play in sustaining our future,' Rep. Williams also said in a statement. 'H.B. 262 is about more than policy—it's about promoting the economic and social stability that comes from raising children in healthy, two-parent households. We must use every tool at our disposal to support the families that are building the next generation of Americans,' he added. 5 Ohio lawmakers are pushing a bill that designates the weeks between Mother's Day and Father's Day as 'Natural Family Month,' sparking backlash from some LGBTQ families, according to reports. NDABCREATIVITY – Advertisement The bill does not define what makes a 'natural' family, but Williams told NBC News the bill is intended to 'promote natural families—meaning a man, a woman, and their children—as a way to encourage higher birth rates.' Birth rates in the U.S. fell to a historic low in 2023, according to a report by the CDC published last year. The CDC recently reported that birth rates increased by 1% in 2023, which 'drove a less than 1% increase in the general fertility rate.' 5 State Reps. Beth Lear and Josh Williams, both Republicans, said they introduced House Bill 262 to celebrate families at a time when marriages and birth rates are declining. Louis-Photo – Advertisement Some marriage rates have also experienced a downward shift over the past few decades. The Pew Research Center reported that the number of 40-year-olds in the U.S. who have never been married reached a record high in 2021. But the bill was criticized by the LGBTQ community, according to reports by WLWT5 and NBC News. Ohio resident Vanessa Melendez, who identifies as lesbian, is a married mother of two who lives with her wife, adopted daughter, and stepson from a previous marriage, in College Hill. 5 But the bill was criticized by the LGBTQ community, according to reports. AP Advertisement Melendez hit the Ohio lawmakers for using the word 'natural' in their pro-family bill, saying it excludes families like hers, and others who have adopted, conceived through IVF, or are raising children without a partner. 'The elephant in the room on how they've positioned it is on the word 'natural,'' Melendez told WLWT5. 'And I think that what they're saying is if there's only one way to be a natural family, and that's entirely not true.' 'They're really coming after it at a very narrow, exclusionary way, and they're only giving a description of one type of family,' Melendez added. 'We don't want to take away from that one type of family, but there are so many other kinds of families.' 5 LGBTQ parents have criticized the proposed bill. (JLco) Julia Amaral – Williams defended the bill to NBC News, saying the bill is not meant to be discriminatory but is intended to support the family structure that's 'most directly tied to the creation and raising of children.' 'By that same logic that all families should be celebrated,' Williams also told WLWT5. 'You could go then to June and say we shouldn't have Pride Month because all sexual orientation should be celebrated, not just those that are alternative to the mainstream.' 5 The 2022 LGBTQ Pride Parade in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio on June 25, 2022. Williams, who is Black, was raised by a single mother, grew up in poverty, and experienced homelessness, and argued that fatherlessness has had negative effects on the Black community. Advertisement 'And we know the statistics that show that that results in a higher rate of poverty, a higher rate of dropping out of school, a higher rate, a higher rate of being on public assistance, a higher rate of engaging in criminal conduct,' he told WLWT5. Williams and Lear did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio House lawmakers introduce companion bill that would ban DEI in K-12 schools
(Photo by) Ohio House Republicans are trying to ban diversity and inclusion in K-12 schools. House Reps. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, recently introduced House Bill 155. This is a companion bill to Ohio Senate Bill 113, which has had two hearings so far in the Senate Education Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Both bills would require every local board of education in the state to adopt a policy that would end any current diversity and inclusion offices or departments and ban any diversity, equity, and inclusion orientation or training. It would also prevent the creation of any new such offices or departments and using DEI in job descriptions. Lear and Williams recently gave sponsor testimony on their bill to the Ohio House Education Committee. 'The increasing incorporation of DEI programs has shifted the focus from educational fundamentals to ideological indoctrination,' Lear said. 'These initiatives prioritize identity over ability, promote racial preferences over fairness, and undermine the principle of equal opportunity for all students.' The pair of Republican lawmakers argued banning DEI would cause less division among students. 'Through legislation like this, we hope to cultivate an educational environment that promotes unity and harmony among students, focusing on our commonalities rather than differences,' Williams said. 'By treating all of our students and staff the same, we can allow our educators to focus on core academic subjects and ensure high-quality outcomes for every student in Ohio.' Education committee members — on both sides of the aisle — peppered the lawmakers with questions for about 40 minutes. 'DEI is toxic,' said state Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta. 'The sooner it's out of our schools, the better. With that in mind, prohibition without consequences is meaningless.' Lear said they plan on adding enforcement measures to the bill in the coming weeks through an amendment. Some of the Democratic lawmakers pointed out how the bill doesn't define DEI. 'How is a school supposed to figure out what that means?' state Rep. Phil Robinson, Jr., D-Solon, asked. Williams said he wouldn't give a narrow definition of DEI. 'The easiest way to answer that is to teach the subjects you are supposed to teach,' Williams said when Robinson pressed him on the question. 'You don't need to infuse DEI into the curriculum.' State Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, continued to ask for a definition of DEI. 'If we don't define what DEI is, how can we expect teachers to not mistakenly break the law?' he asked. Williams said it would ultimately be up to the individual school boards to come up with a policy. 'We're not trying to make a cookie-cutter system,' he said. This bill comes as two federal lawsuits by the ACLU and the National Education Association are challenging the Trump administration's attempt to ban DEI programs in K-12 schools. 'How do you craft legislation when it's a little bit unclear right now from the federal government where things stand?' asked state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna. Williams, who is a lawyer, said he knows lawsuits can take a while and is 'not willing to allow school districts to continue to indoctrinate children for the next four to six years while those lawsuits pend, just because somebody wanted to file a lawsuit.' Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
