Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Republican governor of Arkansas, has declared June in her state to be the “Fidelity Month.” In a statement, she said June should be a time to foster a renewed commitment to “virtue, duty, responsibility, and shared moral foundations.”
“The cultivation of fidelity to God, family, community, and nation contributes to human flourishing and supports a healthy, stable, and orderly society,” Sanders said. She cited the United States’ Founding Father and slaveholder George Washington, who stated that “virtue or morality is a necessary foundation of a republic.”
“Counter-programming to Pride Month”
Sanders also shared on social media a report from The Daily Wire (paywalled), describing Fidelity Month as “counter-programming to Pride Month.” “Another Republican-led state is throwing Pride Month overboard,” the article says.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has served as Arkansas’s chief executive since 2023, is widely regarded as deeply hostile to queer people. During her tenure she has banned gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender youth and rolled back anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students.
Arkansas is not the only conservative state seeking to mount a counter-movement to Pride Month, which has been established for decades. Earlier, the similarly Republican-controlled state of Tennessee proclaimed June the “Month of the Nuclear Family” (TheColu.mn reported).
“Trump administration does not recognize Pride Month — unlike the Biden administration”
Pride Month was officially recognized for the first time in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton under the name “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.” Later presidents such as Barack Obama and Joe Biden expanded the recognition to the entire LGBTQ community. Under Republican presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, Pride Month was not observed.
In Germany, there are similar efforts to replace the CSD month with something else: for several years far-right extremists, including the AfD, mark the so-called Pride Month. This is less hidden in its hostility toward gay people and other queer individuals. Already in 2023, AfD faction leader Beatrix von Storch wrote on X: “#PrideMonth in the trash! End this coercive minority diktat. Down with the rainbow flag” (TheColu.mn reported).
