INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday touted his proclamation, recognizing June as Nuclear Family Month.
The proclamation, made Monday, specifically reads, "The nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife and biological, adopted or foster children, is God's design for the family structure and has been the foundation of society since the creation of the world."
The proclamation has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ rights groups in particular, as June is widely recognized as Pride Month.
The governor says his proclamation on traditional nuclear families is not meant to target nontraditional families.
"It sends no message other than the nuclear family is important, just like when we made adjustments to DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]. I met with all the stakeholders that didn't like what we did there. Obviously, that got complicated. It didn't make sense. And this isn't about any statement other than that nuclear family is important. You might have others who might say otherwise, but that's not the case," Braun said.
The governor's comments come as some allies of the LGBTQ+ community are questioning the timing of his proclamation, and are asking how this will improve the everyday lives of Hoosiers.
"Declaring one family better than another family is definitely not an answer for the questions I just put forth. Does this improve access to child care? Does this improve access to better health care and affordability when it comes to health care? Or housing prices?" asked Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, a Democrat from Bloomington.
Indiana joins Tennessee in recognizing Nuclear Family Month, which was first introduced in 2025.
