FLORIDA GOP ON DRAG SHOWS:

Jason Parsley

Drag no more.

The Florida GOP is now looking to ban drag shows where children might see them in restaurants, bars, or other venues.

House Bill 1423 states adult performances that a child may see constitute an “immediate, serious danger to public health, safety, or welfare.”

The bill itself does not mention the word drag but specifies “the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts when it:

1. predominantly appeals to a prurient, shameful, or morbid interest;

2. is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community of this state as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for the age of the child present.

3. taken as a whole, is without serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for the age of the child present.”

“We all know that this bill is really about drag performances and attacking the queer community,” Jackson Oberlink from Florida Rising, said at the House Commerce Committee meeting. “That is the true intent behind it. It is not some altruistic parental rights bill or about protecting children.”

Chip LaMarca, Broward’s lone House Republican, voted for the bill in the House Commerce Committee where it passed along a party line vote for 13-6.