COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio lawmaker is proposing a bill to mark “Love Makes a Family Week,” after other legislators introduced plans to designate a month celebrating “natural families.”

Put forward by Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), the bill would recognize the first full week of June as “Love Makes a Family Week.” The designation is meant to celebrate “all families formed through love,” like those built through adoption, fosterhood, surrogacy and IVF; single-parent families, blended families and multigenerational households; and families of “every race, sexual orientation, faith, structure and origin.”

“If Ohio is indeed the heart of it all, it is important that Ohio has a heart for all her people,” Antonio said in a statement. “This bill affirms a simple truth: what makes a family is not how it was formed, but the love and support that strengthens it.”

The proposal comes after another bill was introduced in May 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.”

Reps. Beth Lear (R-Galena) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) introduced the “Natural Family Month” 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.

Antonio introduced the “Love Makes a Family Week” bill as part of an effort by Statehouse Democrats to combat “Natural Family Month” and other 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.”

As Ohio’s first openly gay Statehouse lawmaker, Antonio joined other Democrats for a news conference at the Statehouse on Tuesday marking the start of LGBTQ+ Pride month. The lawmakers touted recently reintroduced proposals to ban anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin) also announced the reintroduction of the Marriage Equality Act, a bill to codify same-sex marriage and interracial marriage into Ohio’s constitution. LGBTQ+ advocates have long argued the act is needed given the Supreme Court has signaled it would like to reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case legalizing same-sex marriage.

“The hateful culture wars that we have going on in this state and across the country only succeed if we let it,” Antonio said during the news conference. “We are all here today to say no, we do not accept it, we have an alternative, a better way.”