A piece of legislation aimed at prohibiting the sexualization of young children, dubbed The Drag Queen Bill by critics in spite of it making no reference to drag queens at all, was passed out of committee on Wednesday on a party-line vote.
During the vote of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Representative Alex Kolodin explained that he was surprised that the bill, SB1698, which has ignited vicious opposition from the LGBTQ+ community, does not mention drag queen performances in the entirety of its text.
During the vote of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Representative Alex Kolodin explained that he was surprised that the bill, SB1698, which has ignited vicious opposition from the LGBTQ+ com
The bill, sponsored by Senator Justine Wadsack, passed out of the Senate on a party-line vote in early March.
The legislation, if passed in the House, “establishes the offense of unlawful exposure to an adult oriented performance or business and classifies a violation as a class 4 felony.”
A bill sponsored Senator Anthony Kern that has also been framed as an anti-drag show bill merely “prohibits a person or business from engaging in an adult cabaret performance on public property or in a location where the person knows or has reason to know that the performance could be viewed by a minor.”
Kern’s bill, SB1028, also makes no mention of drag performances. It does define adult cabaret performances “as sexually explicit performances in a location other than an adult cabaret, regardless of whether the performance is for consideration.” It also defines sexually explicit “as an intention to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interest.”
Kern’s bill elicited an ugly response from opponents, Secular Arizona, which compared Jesus Christ to a drag queen. Across an iconic image of Christ with the little children, the words: “Oh look, a man in a dress telling stories to kids,” are scrawled.
— Secular AZ #StopChristianNationalism 🌈 (@SecularAZ) March 17, 2023
“I know Democrats feel the need to champion the wishes of their far-left base,” said one lobbyist who asked to remain anonymous, “but I am surprised that they are marching unanimously over this cliff to fight for the rights of adults to grind their genitals in the faces of kids. This is definitely not your mother’s Democratic Party anymore.”