by Melissa Koenig, Daily Mail
A new Tennessee law declaring June as ‘Nuclear Family Month’ – and not Pride Month – has sparked outrage.
Governor Bill Lee signed the controversial resolution on April 9, just two days after it was sent to his desk, following passage through both chambers of the Republican-controlled state legislature.
It defines the family unit as comprising ‘one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children’ and describes the nuclear family as ‘God’s design for familial structure’ and ‘God’s perfect design for humanity.’
The resolution, first proposed last year, also calls the nuclear family the ‘basic building block of Tennessee’s society throughout her formative years,’ saying it has ‘built the United States of America and created prosperity within our nation.’
It goes on to cite claims about fatherless households, including links to higher rates of poverty, substance abuse, incarceration and school shootings, to argue for the superiority of the traditional family.
However, studies have shown that once factors such as income and household stability are accounted for, the independent effects of father absence are significantly smaller.
The resolution further denounces the ‘humanistic, globalist ideologies’ of the World Health Organization, the United Nations and other ‘like-minded organizations that fight for population control through the means of promoting sterilization and abortion practices.’
It argues that the nuclear family is ‘under attack’ and that it is the state’s responsibility to ‘uplift, protect and support values that help Tennessee.’