FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (FOX26) — A Fresno County supervisor is proposing a resolution that would designate June as “Traditional Nuclear Family Month,” a move that is already drawing both support and criticism throughout the community.
Supervisor Garry Bredefeld plans to introduce the resolution before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors next week. The proposal would recognize what Bredefeld describes as the importance of traditional family values and two-parent households.
By definition, a traditional nuclear family consists of two parents and their children.
Bredefeld said the resolution is intended to celebrate families built around what he calls traditional values, not to oppose any particular group.
When asked whether the proposal was connected to June’s recognition as Pride Month, Bredefeld rejected the idea.
“It doesn’t go against them. It stands for something. It doesn’t stand against anything,” Bredefeld said. “It stands for traditional values. It stands for the things that this country was founded on, our Judeo-Christian beliefs.”
Bredefeld argued that traditional nuclear families provide an important foundation for raising children and strengthening communities.
However, critics say the proposal sends a message that other family structures are less valued.
Stutler Brown, whose father was raised by a single mother, said successful families come in many forms.
“My grandmother raised three kids in a household that had domestic violence and drug abuse,” Brown said. “People in our shelters here in Fresno County may want to know that the government is kind of saying those families aren’t as important as those with one husband and one wife.”
Brown said he supports celebrating families but believes success is not limited to a single model.
“Nuclear families have been around for centuries, and we’ve seen the work of the nuclear family,” Brown said. “But we’ve also seen really amazing people come from single-parent households and LGBTQ households.”
Bredefeld maintains the resolution is not intended to exclude anyone and acknowledges that families come in many forms.
“We welcome everybody,” he said. “We understand people get divorced. We understand there are single fathers and single mothers. We understand that grandparents raise children.”
According to Bredefeld, the idea was inspired by similar resolutions adopted in states including Texas and Tennessee.
The proposal is scheduled to go before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. A majority vote is required for approval, meaning at least three of the board’s five supervisors must support the measure.
Bredefeld said he is confident the resolution will pass.
The Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.