Anyone can declare something, but when Gov. Sarah Sanders does so, it usually comes in the form of a stodgy press release, scrolled with archaic, powdered-wig words like “therefore,” “whereof,” “whereas,” “hereby” and “hereunto.” 

Sanders’ latest declaration, which landed in our email inboxes this morning, is somehow both totally nebulous and overtly political: “I, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim the month of June 2026, as ‘Fidelity Month.’”  

What on earth does that mean? you might ask. 

Amid invocations of the Declaration of Independence and George Washington, the release states that Fidelity Month is all about providing an opportunity for Arkansans to reflect on how “cultivating fidelity to God, family, community, and country contributes to human flourishing and supports a healthy, stable, well-ordered society” and how “practices that encourage virtue, commitment, responsibility, and shared moral foundations strengthen both individuals and their communities.”

Sounds pretty boring.

What the release doesn’t say is that June is more prominently thought of as Pride Month, an electric celebration of queerness that Sanders likely hopes to present as diametrically opposed to Fidelity Month. 

Conservative publication The Daily Wire caught on to the subtext. In a story titled “Another Red State is Counter-Programming Pride Month, Focusing On Family Instead,” the outlet argues that Fidelity Month is obviously a replacement for Pride Month. “The nod to traditional values mirrors actions in Tennessee, where Republican Governor Bill Lee declared June ‘Nuclear Family Month.’ The resolution celebrates the traditional family with ‘one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered child.’”

I think we’ll stick with Pride.