NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee has designated June as “Nuclear Family Month,” adding a new state observance during the same month long recognized across the U.S. as Pride Month.
Earlier this month, Gov. Bill Lee signed House Joint Resolution 182 after it passed the General Assembly. The measure was originally introduced by Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport) and defines the nuclear family as “one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children.” It also says that family structure “has been the bedrock of society since the creation of the world.” The resolution also cites statistics about fatherless homes, poverty, incarceration, youth suicide and school dropouts.
It also criticizes what it calls “humanistic, globalist ideologies” of organizations including the World Health Organization and United Nations, accusing them of promoting "population control" through "sterilization and abortion."
The measure further states that, “The nuclear family is God’s perfect design for humanity” and says that model is aligned with Tennessee’s "traditional values." The resolution also says the "nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation.”
June became nationally recognized as Pride Month in honor of the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York, a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. President Bill Clinton first recognized June as "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month" in 1999, and President Barack Obama later expanded that recognition to include the broader LGBTQ+ community.
The Tennessee move comes as LGBTQ+ rights remain a major national flashpoint. President Donald Trump did not issue a Pride Month proclamation in 2017, breaking with an eight-year precedent set by President Barack Obama to honor and support LGBTQ+ Americans, and the White House again said there were no plans for one in 2025.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration removed a Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument before later restoring it after a legal challenge. Trump-era policies have also included renewed efforts to bar transgender military service, restrict passport gender markers, and roll back some federal protections for transgender Americans.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck praised Tennessee’s resolution on social media, writing that June was “no longer Pride Month in Tennessee” and that "other red states should adopt this immediately."
The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD said in a social media post:
"Resolutions like this do more to reveal the cluelessness of elected officials whose own families and those of their constituents have various family dynamics and structures.
The strongest families are grounded by love. Lawmakers trying to exclude and intentionally harm some families should be recognized as actively harming all by not focusing their time working for an inclusive Tennessee where all are welcome and can succeed."
The Tennessee resolution does not include language restricting Pride Month observances.
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