Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox’s proposal comes one month after Gov. Bill Lee signed a nearly identical resolution at the state level.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox is looking to follow in the state’s footsteps and designate June as “Nuclear Family Month” instead of Pride Month.
A proclamation he submitted to the Knox County Commission is set for discussion at Monday’s meeting.
The proclamation defines a nuclear family as “one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children.”
It also states that “the nuclear family is God’s perfect design for humanity and is aligned with the long-held traditional values of Tennessee and Knox County” and that the nuclear family is “under attack in our beloved Knox County, State of Tennessee, and the United States of America.”
This follows a similar resolution that Gov. Bill Lee signed just last month at the state level, with most of the wording remaining identical, including the subheading, which specifically wants to “recognize June 2025 as Nuclear Family Month.”
RELATED: Gov. Lee signs joint resolution to change ‘Pride Month’ to ‘Nuclear Family Month’ in Tennessee
The resolution submitted to the House of Representatives first introduced in Feb. 2025. The House didn’t pass it until April 2025 and the Senate passed it in March.
Both statements claim fatherless families are four times more likely to live in poverty, are 10 times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, are more likely to have mental health and behavioral issues and that 60% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. Neither piece of legislature cites where these figures came from.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tennessee averaged roughly seven marriages per 1,000 people in 2023 and close to three divorces per 1,000 people. According to the CDC, the national rate of marriages declined from 8.2 per 1,000 in 2000 to 6.2 in 2022, and the rate of divorce declined from 4.0 per 1,000 in 2000 to 2.4 per 1,000 in 2022.
Both documents also condemn the World Health Organization and the United Nations for “promoting sterilization and abortion practices.”
LGBTQ+ advocates condemned the statewide resolution last month.
“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 said in a statement to The Advocate. “The strongest families are grounded by love. 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 proposal submitted to the Knox County Commission is up for discussion at their meeting on Monday, May 18.