Democrat calls it 'dangerous and un-American' to think children are safest with a married mother and father

South Dakota state Rep. Erin Healy, a Democrat, described the notion that children are safest in a family with a married mother and father as a "dangerous and un-American belief."

"Extremist group Family Heritage Alliance said this morning that the safest place for kids are in families that have a married mom and dad. What a dangerous and un-American belief," Healy tweeted on Monday.

Family Heritage Alliance's website indicates that the group wants "South Dakota be a state where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is valued."

Healy lamented the failure of a measure to redefine marriage as between two people, rather than between a man and a woman. She retweeted a post in which a reporter said that the state House Affairs Committee had killed the bill in a 7-5 vote.

"The grip from fundamentalist groups who only believe in nuclear families is strong at our state legislature today. I am disgusted by the extremist opposition we heard today and disappointed we couldn't pass such a simple, important bill," Healy tweeted.

"It takes exactly one man and one woman to make a child. In what world is it 'dangerous and un-American' to believe that children—all else being equal—have the highest chance at positive outcomes in a loving home with the people who created them?" Delano Squires tweeted.

"I thought this was a parody until I looked at the rest of her timeline. Children do best with a mother and father in a healthy, committed relationship. That's reality. I guess reality is too extreme for her," someone else tweeted.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, signed a commonsense measure on Monday to prohibit health care professionals from providing gender reassignment surgeries and other transgender-related services to minors.

But earlier this month, Healy described the measure as "extremism at its finest" and claimed that "kids are going to die because of this bill."

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