FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – “Does my family count?”
That’s the question some Fort Wayne families are asking after Gov. Mike Braun proclaimed June “Nuclear Family Month” in Indiana.
The proclamation states that “the nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children, is God’s design for the family structure and has been the foundation of society since the creation of the world.”
It also declares that “research reports that children living with their married, biological parents have better physical and emotional well-being” and that “when families weaken, society must compensate with expensive, inferior approaches such as welfare systems, schools as surrogate parents, and police as surrogate discipline.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith promoted the proclamation online, sharing a post that read “Take back the rainbow.”
The governor made the proclamation on the first day of Pride Month. During a news conference, a reporter asked him if he was trying to send a message.
“This isn’t about any other statement, other than the nuclear family is important,” Braun said. “You’re going to have others that might say otherwise, but that’s not the case.”
Fort Wayne families respond
Thad and Travis Gerardot grew their family two and a half years ago when they adopted their son.
“We grew our family two and a half years ago and it was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Thad Gerardot said. “We love him more than anything I could ever imagine.”
“The first day we met him, we knew he was ours,” Travis Gerardot said.
Thad and Travis Gerardot(wpta)
The Gerardots worry the governor’s proclamation draws a line between “strong” families and “weakened” ones.
The text of the proclamation celebrates one husband and one wife, citing research that favors children raised by married biological parents.
The Governor’s office did not respond to 21Alive’s request to provide the specific research.
The Gerardots feel that language leaves families like theirs judged and left out.
“It’s hard when you have a governor who doesn’t know us, making that judgment or ranking our family lower because of who we are and not what we do,” Gerardot said.
Travis and Thad Gerardot with their son(family)Questioning the timing
Tracey Wilkinson has an eight-year-old daughter. She and her fiancée, Naomi Thompson, are raising their family in Fort Wayne.
“This kid means the world to me,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson questions the timing of the governor’s proclamation.
“I thought it was a kind of a sad excuse for passive aggressiveness against the LGBT community,” Wilkinson said. “Our kids don’t get any less love or support or guidance just because of a community that we’re in that some people just don’t care for or care to agree with.”
Tracey Wilkinson and Naomi Thompson question the governor’s timing(wpta)
Thompson and Wilkinson invite the governor to a backyard barbecue, saying that if he met their family, he would see their strong bond.
“It’s hard to hate or discriminate against somebody that you know and have a personal relationship with,” Thompson said. “It can make all the difference in the world.”
“You think about the families here in Indiana who weren’t described in that proclamation and their kids saw that online and they read it and probably thought, does my family count?” Gerardot said.
Multiple requests for an interview with the governor about the specifics of his proclamation were unsuccessful.
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