In the United States, some conservative-leaning states this year began calling June—long known as Pride Month for sexual minorities—by different names. They are proclaiming separate commemorative months in the same month that emphasize family, faith, or the nation.
In the United States, June has been known as the month of sexual minorities since then-President Bill Clinton proclaimed it Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 1999. Since 1999, Democratic presidents have issued a Pride proclamation every year, while Republican presidents have not made an official proclamation.
This year, Indiana and Tennessee proclaimed June as Nuclear Family Month instead of calling it Pride Month. The aim is to honor families consisting of one husband, one wife, biological children, adopted children, and foster children. Alabama designated it Strong Family Month to coincide with Father's Day, and Utah and Arkansas put forward Fidelity Month, emphasizing faithfulness to faith, country, and family. All are states led by Republican governors. The AP said, "Both supporters and opponents of the Republican Party view the proclamations issued in these states as counter programming aimed at Pride Month."
In their proclamations, the states did not directly target or attack sexual minorities. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said, "A stable home led by a father and a mother provides children with the structure and discipline needed for lifelong success." The other five states repeatedly used words such as traditional families led by a father and a mother, faith, loyalty to the nation, and community. Without directly mentioning the term Pride Month, Tennessee wrote in its resolution that "the concept of the nuclear family is under attack in various states and at the national level." The AP added that the governors declined to give an official answer on why they issued the proclamations specifically in June.
In the United States, June began to take hold as Pride Month after the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1969. At the time, sexual minorities faced discrimination at work and in housing and lived under social stigma. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York's Greenwich Village that welcomed sexual minorities, they took to the streets in protest. The protests, known as the Stonewall uprising, became the starting point of the modern American movement for the rights of sexual minorities.
On June 28, 1970, New York held the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, considered the precursor to today's Pride parades. That same year, early Pride events marking the first anniversary of the Stonewall uprising were also held in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. Finally, in 1999, President Clinton officially proclaimed June as "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month."
Since then, Pride parades have grown beyond street resistance by sexual minorities to become commemorations recognized by the federal government. They have expanded to include big-city parades, sponsorships by corporations, and gestures such as lighting public buildings or flying rainbow flags.
The conservative camp began to view all Pride-related events as a cultural force that threatens the traditional values it seeks to protect. Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, said, "Pride celebrations have gone so far that they make it difficult to celebrate traditional marriage." The conservative camp fronts the cause of "reclaiming a culture that was taken." Utah Gov. Spencer Cox personally proclaimed June as Pride Month from 2021 to 2023, but in 2024 changed the name to Bridge-Building Month, and this year shifted again to Fidelity Month. The person who first proposed "Fidelity Month," which emphasizes fidelity to faith, country, and family, is Robert George, a conservative legal scholar at Princeton University. In a 2023 interview with the Catholic outlet National Catholic Register, he said, "No one owns a particular date or a particular month." Raeki Derrick, a conservative activist who wrote Tennessee's proclamation, said, "(Pride Month is) a month in which we are told to celebrate the exact opposite of what we know is right."
In some states, attempts to redefine June's symbolism have also moved into legislation. Last year, Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller introduced a resolution to rescind recognition of Pride Month, saying, "Let's designate June as Family Month." However, because it was a symbolic resolution, it was not put to a vote.
Complicated public opinion underlies this backlash. A recent Gallup poll shows support for same-sex marriage legalization in the United States remains a majority at 65%. It rose from 27% in 1996 to 71% in 2022, and has since trended slightly downward. Among Republican supporters only, support for same-sex marriage fell to 37%. Just 38% said they consider gender transition morally acceptable. Experts said that as various issues related to sexual minorities were repeatedly raised before the broader framework of same-sex marriage had fully settled, conservative backlash exploded. In particular, as the front lines kept shifting—to transgender youth medical care, whether transgender people can participate in sports, instruction on gender identity in schools, and corporations' diversity, equity and inclusion policies—experts said fatigue has grown among conservative-leaning audiences.
Skepticism toward corporations' LGBTQ-friendly marketing has deepened. In a Pew Research Center survey, 61% of non-LGBTQ Republicans said corporations promote Pride because of pressure. Among Democrats, it was 30%. Even among sexual minorities, 68% viewed corporations' Pride-related promotions as actions for business profit. Among non-LGBTQ adults, 54% interpreted them as for business profit. Only 16% of sexual minorities considered them genuine celebrations.
In 2023, big-box retailer Target and beer brand Bud Light pursued LGBTQ-friendly marketing and were hit by large-scale boycotts from conservatives. Now corporations that support Pride events in June find themselves attacked from both sides—as woke posturing by conservatives and as hypocrisy that chases profit by progressives. Last year, global corporations including Mastercard, PepsiCo, and Nissan drastically reduced or fully withdrew sponsorship of Pride events in major U.S. cities such as New York and San Francisco. Citing experts, Bloomberg said, "Many corporations are cutting back on public sponsorships and shifting to less visible approaches, such as internal events or support for local groups."
By contrast, progressive-leaning states led by Democrats again officially proclaimed June as Pride Month this year. New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Colorado raised rainbow flags symbolizing sexual minorities or lit up landmarks with rainbow colors at statehouses and symbolic monuments. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defined New York as the "birthplace of the LGBTQ rights movement." On June 1, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill commemorating the first day of Pride Month that opens civil remedies for victims of gender-transition care.
LGBTQ groups also pushed back against the Republican governors' moves. Alex Richardson, board chair of Indy Pride in Indianapolis, said, "The nuclear family is worth celebrating, but so are families led by a grandmother raising her grandchild or those bound by love and effort without blood ties." Jordan Braxton, co-director of USA Prides, said, "No matter what they call June, they can't take away our pride and our joy."