Text of ID HCR 20 (2024)

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2024 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 20 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND RECOGNIZING MOTHER'S DAY THROUGH 2 FATHER'S DAY AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES 3 FACING TRADITIONAL FAMILIES AND THE ALARMING RATE AT WHICH THE TRADI- 4 TIONAL AMERICAN FAMILY IS DECLINING. 5 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 WHEREAS, traditional families designed by God have been the foundation 7 of societies since creation. As such, traditional families operate as a 8 source of security in their communities, often attending to societal trou- 9 bles before law enforcement involvement is needed, thereby serving as the 10 cornerstone of a functional society. In a letter entitled The Crucial Role 11 of Families submitted to the United Nations by the International Federation 12 for Family Development in consult with the U.N. Economic and Social Council 13 division, the authors state: "Children growing up in healthy, married, 14 two-parent families are more likely to lead happy, healthy and successful 15 lives than those who have not experienced the same level of family security 16 and stability... Governments cannot afford to fully replace the functions 17 families perform for the benefit of their members and for the good of soci- 18 ety. The family is the most powerful, the most humane and, by far, the most 19 economical system known for building competence and character."; and 20 WHEREAS, the freedom to exercise these beliefs and values based in the 21 truth of the laws of nature and nature's God has been protected by the Consti- 22 tution of the United States since its inception; and 23 WHEREAS, the International Federation for Family Development has 24 stated: "As basic and essential building blocks of societies, families have 25 a crucial role in social development. They bear the primary responsibility 26 for the education and socialization of children as well as instilling values 27 of citizenship and belonging in the society."; and 28 WHEREAS, compared to peers in two biological parent married families, 29 children who lived with a single parent with no cohabiting partner were five 30 times more likely to be sexually abused, children who lived in a stepfamily 31 with a married biological and non-biological parent were eight to nine times 32 more likely to be sexually abused, and children who lived with a single par- 33 ent with a partner in the home were twenty times more likely to be sexually 34 abused; and 35 WHEREAS, according to Reverend D. Paul Sullins, Ph.D., "The evidence 36 that children flourish best under the uninterrupted care of their natural 37 mother and father is among the strongest we have for any proposition in the 38 social sciences. If the proliferation of alternative family forms over the 39 past fifty years were a social experiment in parenting arrangements, there 40 would now be more than enough evidence to conclude that it was a failure."; 41 and 42 2 WHEREAS, traditional families consisting of a natural mother and fa- 1 ther, children, grandparents, and extended family have declined drastically 2 since 1960 when approximately 77.5% of children lived with their two par- 3 ents, who were married; and 4 WHEREAS, according to census data, in 1960, just 13% of all households 5 were single-person households. In 2018, that figure was 28%; and 6 WHEREAS, today, only 17.8% of Americans live in traditional nuclear 7 families; and 8 WHEREAS, according to Reverend Sullins, "Marriage between same-sex 9 partners also reduced estimated child well-being compared to cohabiting 10 same-sex parents. In these cases, the introduction of marriage that did not 11 reflect increased biological propinquity with the children actually harmed 12 child well-being... There is no substitute for the procreative relationship 13 of man, woman, and their own child."; and 14 WHEREAS, in 1950, 27% of marriages ended in divorce. Today, about 45% 15 do; and 16 WHEREAS, in 1960, 72% of Americans were married. In 2017, nearly half of 17 Americans were single; and 18 WHEREAS, in 1960, approximately 5% of children were born to unmarried 19 women. Now, about 40% are; and 20 WHEREAS, American children are more likely to live in a single-parent 21 household than children from any other country; and 22 WHEREAS, according to the International Federation for Family Develop- 23 ment, "Those who build stable families have a higher life expectancy, lower 24 risks of mental illness, alcoholism and domestic violence. The children 25 show lower infant mortality rate, lower risk drug addiction, and lower in- 26 cidences of engaging in criminal activities after puberty, higher academic 27 achievements, lower incidence of mental illnesses and fewer teenage un- 28 wanted pregnancies. A stable family is the lowest cost option for both its 29 members and the State."; and 30 WHEREAS, the people who suffer the most from the decline in traditional 31 family values and structure are the most vulnerable, especially children; 32 and 33 WHEREAS, those born into poverty and living with both parents have an 34 80% chance of climbing out of it. Those born into poverty with a single 35 mother have a 50% chance of remaining stuck in poverty; and 36 WHEREAS, even in high-crime, inner-city neighborhoods, well over 90% 37 of children from safe, stable homes do not become delinquents. By contrast, 38 only 10% of children from unsafe, unstable homes in these neighborhoods 39 avoid crime; and 40 WHEREAS, 63% of youth who commit suicide, 90% of all homeless or runaway 41 children, 85% of all children who show behavior disorders, 80% of rapists 42 with anger problems, 71% of all high school dropouts, 75% of all adolescent 43 patients in chemical abuse centers, and 85% of youths in prisons come from 44 fatherless homes; and 45 WHEREAS, research demonstrates children who grow up in families with 46 traditional values and gender roles are more likely to have traditional val- 47 ues and gender role expectations themselves; and 48 WHEREAS, according to Reverend Sullins, "traditional, religious mar- 49 riage norms - a lifelong sexual union, between man and woman, observing 50 3 chastity outside marriage and fidelity inside it - benefit children by es- 1 tablishing strong conditions for such care, and may add other benefits."; 2 and 3 WHEREAS, there is an unprecedented attack on these beliefs and the cele- 4 bration of these beliefs; and 5 WHEREAS, much remains to be done to ensure that traditional family roles 6 and values are both celebrated and encouraged to provide the most nurturing 7 and healthy environment possible to raise the next generation of American 8 children. 9 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses- 10 sion of the Sixty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives 11 and the Senate concurring therein, that the Idaho Legislature: 12 (1) Supports the designation of Mother's Day through Father's Day as 13 Traditional Family Values Month in the State of Idaho; 14 (2) Recognizes the value of a traditional family consisting of the nat- 15 ural female mother and male father, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, 16 and other extended family; 17 (3) Recognizes the first week of Traditional Family Values Month, in- 18 cluding Mother's Day, as a celebration of motherhood; 19 (4) Recognizes the second week of Traditional Family Values Month as a 20 celebration of sons, brothers, and uncles; 21 (5) Recognizes the third week of Traditional Family Values Month as a 22 celebration of grandparents; 23 (6) Recognizes the fourth week of Traditional Family Values Month as a 24 celebration of daughters, sisters, and aunts; 25 (7) Recognizes the fifth and final period of Traditional Family Values 26 Month, including Father's Day, as a celebration of fatherhood and marriage 27 between a man and a woman; 28 (8) Recognizes the evidence-based physical and mental health benefits 29 children receive when raised in a home with a traditional family; 30 (9) Recognizes the evidence-based results that children flourish when 31 raised in a home with an involved biological father; 32 (10) Recognizes the immeasurable benefits children receive in the de- 33 velopment of character, morality, virtue, and spirituality that traditional 34 American family values foster; and 35 (11) Encourages communities, schools, churches, businesses, corpora- 36 tions, and other stakeholders who all benefit from the cohesiveness, peace, 37 tranquility, and civility of communities built on strong traditional family 38 values, along with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare whose mission 39 is to strengthen the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans, to take 40 part in celebrating Traditional Family Values Month in the State of Idaho. 41