19-05-2025
Ohio bill to celebrate ‘natural family' month excludes LGBTQ+, single parents
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A new Ohio bill plans to designate a month celebrating 'natural families' with 'a clear male leader,' legislation that a leading advocacy group said invalidates single parents and 'takes direct aim at LGBTQ+ families.'
House Bill 262 was introduced at the Ohio Statehouse on May 13 to recognize the weeks between Mother's Day and Father's Day as 'Natural Family Month.' The proposal is backed by the Natural Family Foundation, a Westerville-based organization that defines a 'natural family' as one man and one woman 'committed in a lifelong monogamous relationship' with their 'biological or adopted children.'
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'For society to survive, the fabric must be mended by readjusting the social constraints/contracts to once again favor the age-old natural family prototype,' the foundation's site states, noting that, 'Within the family there must be a clear male leader and that leader must come from the family's lineage.' The foundation didn't respond to NBC4's request for comment.
Dwayne Steward, executive director of Equality Ohio, condemned H.B. 262 as 'discriminatory, dehumanizing legislation,' and 'a calculated act of strategic erasure.'
'It not only invalidates the existence of single parents and countless other caregivers, but it takes direct aim at LGBTQ+ families,' Steward said. 'The so-called 'Natural Family Foundation,' the group pushing this legislation, has made their ideology clear: if you're not a heterosexual, monogamous couple with children — led by a biological male from the family lineage — you don't count as a family at all. As an adoptive parent, myself, I feel this erasure personally.'
More than 23% of households in Ohio include single parents, U.S. Census data shows. A report from the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles found Ohio's LGBTQ+ population is the sixth largest in the nation, with about 557,000 adults identifying within the community.
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H.B. 262 comes ahead of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June and the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision establishing the right to same-sex marriage. Reps. Beth Lear (R-Galena) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) introduced the bill with the support of 26 Republican lawmakers, and argue the designation is needed given the U.S. fertility rate recently reached a historic low.
'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,' Lear said.
Williams argues H.B. 262 would promote 'the economic and social stability that comes from raising children in healthy, two-parent households.'
'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,' Williams said. 'We must use every tool at our disposal to support the families that are building the next generation of Americans.'
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The bill adds to the list of Statehouse legislation that opponents deem 'anti-LGBTQ+,' like a law banning gender-affirming care for trans youth that is currently in effect while litigation continues. Another is a measure that went into effect in February requiring academic institutions to set separate bathrooms based on students' 'biological sex.' Watch a report of some Ohio mayors calling for an end to conversion therapy in the video player above.
A law coined by supporters as 'The Parents' Bill of Rights' requires teachers to notify parents before teaching 'sexuality content' and of changes in a student's mental, emotional or physical health. A national crisis hotline said it received a significant increase in calls from LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio within hours after Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law.
Lawmakers have also debated a proposal to ban universities from asking students their preferred pronouns and another penalizing school districts that use students' chosen name and pronouns without parental permission. Williams reintroduced a bill in April that opponents argue will amount to a ban of drag queens in public.
Still, when asked in March to respond to claims that Ohio is fostering an unfriendly climate for LGBTQ+ residents, DeWine said he 'would totally disagree with that.'
'I don't think we have done that,' he said. 'Look, you go back and look at everything that I have said as governor, in 'State of the State' speeches and other times, this should be a welcoming state. We want everybody to come to Ohio and feel welcomed in the state.'
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