A new Tennessee law declaring June as 'Nuclear Family Month' - and not Pride Month - has sparked outrage. 

Governor Bill Lee signed the controversial resolution on April 9, just two days after it was sent to his desk, following passage through both chambers of the Republican-controlled state legislature. 

It defines the family unit as comprising 'one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children' and describes the nuclear family as 'God's design for familial structure' and 'God's perfect design for humanity.'

The resolution, first proposed last year, also calls the nuclear family the 'basic building block of Tennessee's society throughout her formative years,' saying it has 'built the United States of America and created prosperity within our nation.'

It goes on to cite claims about fatherless households, including links to higher rates of poverty, substance abuse, incarceration and school shootings, to argue for the superiority of the traditional family.

However, studies have shown that once factors such as income and household stability are accounted for, the independent effects of father absence are significantly smaller.

The resolution further denounces the 'humanistic, globalist ideologies' of the World Health Organization, the United Nations and other 'like-minded organizations that fight for population control through the means of promoting sterilization and abortion practices.'

It argues that the nuclear family is 'under attack' and that it is the state's responsibility to 'uplift, protect and support values that help Tennessee.'

The bill was sponsored by Republican state Representative Bud Hulsey, of Kingsport, and was backed by 15 GOP co-sponsors.

But it took a year for the bill to make its way through the Tennessee Legislature.

The resolution originally passed the Tennessee House 72 - 18 in April 2025, and finally cleared the Senate 26 - 4 last month.

At that point, it returned to the House for final concurrence in a Senate amendment changing the designation of 'Nuclear Family Month' from June 2025 to June 2026.

LGBTQ groups were quick to denounce the resolution, even though there is no enforcement mechanism, leaving Tennessee residents free to celebrate Pride Month if they so choose.

'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,' a spokesperson for GLAAD told the Advocate.

'The strongest families are grounded by love,' the spokesperson continued.

'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 governor's signature on the resolution came just one month after another bill that would have banned the display of Pride flags and other LGBTQIA symbols in government buildings died in a Senate committee, Nashville Scene reports. 

Representative Gino Bulso said he had sponsored the 'No Pride Flag or Month Act' after parents complained about teachers and staff displaying Pride flags and other symbols of LGBTQ inclusivity on their desks, doors or other work areas in schools.

'I think the problem is that [LGBTQ people are] targeting children with these values that are represented by the Pride flag, and any time you're dealing with efforts to indoctrinate children at school and get them to adopt a particular political point of view, I consider that a serious matter,' Bulso said.

'I would have thought that all reasonable people can agree that we should not be displaying political flags in our elementary and middle and high schools,' he continued. 

'If that continues to go on, and if I continue to hear complaints from parents in our district, we'll bring it back,' Bulso said of the resolution.

The resolution failed after Democratic Senator Jeff Yarbo argued it would violate free speech, and Republican Senator Page Walley argued it is a local government issue.

Tennessee Equality Project Executive Director Chris Sanders celebrated the news when the bill failed.

'Rooted in LGBTQ history and the struggles for freedom, our Pride flags and Pride celebrations are also a test case for every American's liberties,' he said.

'I am glad that we will see strong Pride celebrations across Tennessee this year.' 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Governor Lee's office for comment.