Press Forward for Families
The Family: A Proclamation to the World, read and discussed in Latter-day Saint wards around the world today, concludes in part with “we call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed and maintain and strengthen the family…”
In the twenty-six years since the proclamation we have seen a significant shift in what Latter-day Saints in the United States consider pro-family and moral approaches to public policy. As Utah families made clear this summer, the monthly child tax credit, greater support for pre-kindergarten, childcare, and community college, and robust action to stabilize our changing climate are central parts of fostering family life. The reflections of these shared values in the Build Back Better platform of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris contributed to their ticket securing plurality support among Latter-day Saints under the age of 40 (many of whom are parents with children in the home or looking to be so) and record support for the Democratic ticket among Arizona Latter-day Saints.
With Latter-day Saint Senators Crapo, Lee, and Romney refusing to take action for families despite the inflationary pressures the bill would help address, the ongoing pandemic, and the climate-related disasters rocking our shared nation, we press Democratic Senators — including Senators Sinema and Manchin — to continue their work and pass Build Back Better without delay. We remind everyone that Build Back Better is supported by two-thirds of the country, including significant portions of non-affiliated voters and Republican voters.
We also note that as Constitutionally-determined, thirty-four seats in the US Senate are on the ballot in 2022, with key Senate races in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and several other states. In addition to calling their Senators’ offices this week, we encourage everyone to pay attention to the “legislative fruits” by which we can judge candidates and to be active participants in the democratic process before and on election day.
