Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Las Vegas in October 2023 (Gage Skidmore)
As elected officials, sports teams, and many Americans across the country celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month, some red states have chosen to not only ignore it, but counter Pride by promoting fidelity and one-man, one-woman nuclear families. Some of these actions portray the nuclear family and traditional values as under attack.
“Today, I proclaimed June as Nuclear Family Month in Indiana,” Republican Governor Mike Braunwrote on Monday. “As a father of four and grandfather of seven, I have seen firsthand the impact that loving, committed families can have across multiple generations.”
But Governor Braun’s proclamation offers a very specific — and exclusionary — concept of family.
It says, “the nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children, is God’s design for the family structure and has been the foundation of society since the creation of the world.”
In Tennessee, GOP Governor Bill Lee signed a resolution declaring June “Nuclear Family Month.” It includes wording similar to Indiana’s proclamation.
“The nuclear family is God’s perfect design for humanity and is aligned with the long-held traditional values of Tennessee,” it says, according to WSMV. “The nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation.”
Utah’s Republican Governor, Spencer Cox, signed a proclamation dedicating June as Fidelity Month. It warns of a decline in support for traditional values, and says that “a majority of Americans no longer esteem values like faith, family, patriotism or community involvement.”
Cox defines fidelity as “dedication to faith, family and country,” and says the “survival of the United States depends on the shared bonds of faith, family and patriotism.” He concludes that it is “fitting to observe one month each year to rededicate the United States to its core values.”
In Arkansas, Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders also signed a declaration proclaiming June as Fidelity Month.
“Cultivating fidelity to God, family, community, and country contributes to human flourishing and supports a healthy, stable, well-ordered society,” it reads. “Practices that encourage virtue, commitment, responsibility, and shared moral foundations strengthen both individuals and their communities.”
The New Republic says it’s “hard not to see the move as a direct attack on the LGBTQ+ community and everything it’s achieved.”
Calling it “Counter-Programming Pride Month,” the right-wing Daily Wire reported, “Another red state is kicking Pride Month to the curb. In Arkansas, Republican Governor Sarah Sanders is instead declaring June as Fidelity Month.”
ABC affiliate 40/29 News reports that some view Arkansas’s new proclamation “as a means of attempting to overshadow Pride Month.”
Amy Erickson, president of NW Arkansas WClub, a “women’s-focused group for the local LGBTQ+ community,” told 40/29 News, “I don’t think that recognizing Pride, Gay Pride, LGBTQ Pride, takes anything away from anybody else’s, you know faith, beliefs, traditions.”
“You know, honoring our history and where we’ve come from and what we’ve overcome, there’s just no reason why stripping that away is necessary as far as I’m concerned,” Erickson added.