Arkansas’ LGBTQ+ community needs to be supported, not counter-programmed 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ proclamation declaring June “Fidelity Month” appeared innocuous enough at first glance. 

For most people there’s little to argue with the idea of encouraging residents to “reflect on and renew commitments” with civic and spiritual institutions as we near our nation’s 250th birthday. The wording even appeared tame to the ways President Donald Trump has couched the approaching semiquincentennial and tied it to his own political profile. 

But the month is part of another front in the culture wars for conservative Republicans, a response to June’s Pride Month commemorations.

“Another red state is counter-programming Pride Month, focusing on family instead, ” proclaimed a headline in the conservative Daily Wire, which was reposted by Sanders to her official X account.

Arkansas isn’t the only state issuing this kind of proclamation. Utah’s Republican governor has also declared June “Fidelity Month,” while Alabama has declared it “Strong Families Month.” Tennessee and Indiana, meanwhile, have declared June “Nuclear Family Month.”

None of the proclamations reference LGBTQ+ people or Pride Month. Republicans behind them deny that they’re a statement about same-sex couples or other types of families.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said his proclamation “sends no message other than the nuclear family is important,” even though an illustrated version of his proclamation shared by the state’s lieutenant governor declares “take back the rainbow!”

There’s a danger in proclamations that send the message that LGBTQ+ people aren’t part of strong families or don’t represent fidelity. 

It’s hard to escape the subtext of these proclamations, coming from states where Republicans have complained about commemorations of Pride Month by retailers, public libraries and others. They follow a wave of restrictions aimed primarily at transgender people enacted by Republican-led states that have included bans on gender-affirming care and laws preventing trans youth from using the pronouns they go by.

They also come after efforts at the state and federal level to limit access to books that include LGBTQ+ characters or storylines, and to remove references to LGBTQ+ history from museums.

It would be easy to dismiss the proclamations as another culture war fight, especially with figures like Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office accusing Republicans of having a “melt down” over Pride Month. 

But elected officials should look beyond the politics of these proclamations and consider the members of the community who are affected by them. Studies by groups like the Trevor Project have shown the high rate of suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, with half of LGBTQ+ young people reporting they’re unable to get mental health care. Surveys have also shown the high rate of bullying and harassment LGBTQ+ students face in schools. 

These proclamations encourage the kinds of statements like one posted on social media by U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee that “homosexuality has no place in America.” The post, which Ogles blamed on a staff member, was taken down after the congressman faced pushback from fellow Republicans.

Even if they’re not echoing Ogles’ remarks, the proclamations at the very least insinuate something similar — especially if they’re being pitched as a counterweight to Pride commemorations.  They can also distract from the resources that LGBTQ+ youth and families need and potentially add to the stigmatization they face. 

These moves can also wind up minimizing the contributions of each states’ LGBTQ+ community and to the shared institutions that these proclamations highlight. That includes military service, with more than 1 million LGBTQ+ veterans in the U.S., according to Disabled American Veterans. Did their sacrifices not display fidelity?

Promoting shared values and commitment to improving society is a laudable goal, as is finding ways to strengthen the state’s families and civic institutions. 

But doing it in a way that ostracizes people within the community won’t build unity. Instead, it just deepens the divide.