Oklahoma Republican State Senator Dusty Deevers introduced legislation that would create tax credits for married couples with children in order to safeguard and incentivize the natural family.
The new legislation proposed by Deevers would establish a $1,000 tax credit for every child under the age of eighteen “if the child’s biological mother and father were married prior to the child’s birth,” as well as a $500 tax credit for every child under the age of eighteen “residing in the parents’ home while the child’s biological mother and father are married to each other.”
Deevers wrote in the proposed bill that the state government of Oklahoma has a compelling “interest, priority, and responsibility to honor and protect the natural marital family context for the sake of children whose identity and life prospects are so substantially implicated by it.”
“This state’s financial incentivizing of children’s upbringing in a home with their married mother and father will minimize the need for government anti-poverty funds, child protective services, academic support, police involvement, and other state emergency or remedial aid,” the bill said.
The tax credit was lessened to $500 for every child of parents only married after the birth of the child because the “cohabitation of a child’s biological parents does not produce the same benefit for children,” according to the legislation, which observed that “studies show the nonmarital cohabitation relationship of a child’s mother and father is not a benefit equivalent to a home of a married father and mother, citing increased risk of parental breakup, abuse, and poverty.”
Deevers commented in a statement about the legislation that children who live with both of their married biological parents have better chances of academic achievement and emotional health, as well as better chances of avoiding poverty and drug use. The lawmaker, who serves as vice chair of the Oklahoma State Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, noted that the Bible says “children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
“We can and should address exceptional cases of hardship with compassion and tailored solutions, but we must not abandon policies that incentivize the cornerstone institution of a lasting civilization,” he remarked. “The truth is simple: when families are strong, society prospers.”
Deevers has previously authored other proposals in Oklahoma meant to uphold the natural family, such as bills to abolish abortion, prohibit pornography, and repeal no-fault divorce.
