Eighteen states have joined to file an amicus brief supporting Tennessee in its appeal of a ruling on its drag show law.
The amicus brief comes as Tennessee is appealing a ruling against the law to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Wisconsin parental rights groups plan to demonstrate this weekend against a daylong pride event featuring a drag queen story hour and a children’s dance party.
Organizers with No Left Turn in Education, Parents Patrol, and Gays Against Groomers Wisconsin said they will be out in force at Pride in the Park, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Watertown’s Riverside Park. The protesters are planning a Classic Story Hour at the city park.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to review the Tennessee General Assembly’s legislative victories and the outlook for 2024.
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A Republican lawmaker wants to prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense from using taxpayer funds for drag queen shows and other adult cabaret performances.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced legislation to stop the department from using taxpayer funds or taxpayer-funded facilities to host such performances. The bill comes after the U.S. Navy said it had one of its sailors, a drag performer and social media influencer, serve as a Digital Ambassador for military recruitment.
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On Saturday, a student-led drag show was held at Tucson High School titled the “School is a Drag, Show,” as planned by the school’s Q Space, a club for LGBTQ+ students. In response, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne (R) said these shows should not be held in the schools.
“In my view, adults have first amendment rights to attend drag shows if they choose to, but they don’t belong in school,” Horne said via the phone to The Arizona Sun Times.
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A group of conservative Pennsylvania state lawmakers on Thursday voiced outrage at the Greater Johnstown School District’s “Gender Transition Plan” and “Gender Support Plan.”
Particularly troubling to members of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus (PAFC) are provisions in the district policies to circumvent parents’ involvement in the way their gender-dysphoric student may address his or her condition.
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Republican culture warriors have devoted considerable energy to subjects like “drag queen story hour” and “protecting women’s sports.” While these battles must be fought, they are oblique ways of addressing the real problem. Drag shows are low-hanging fruit. It doesn’t require much courage to denounce them. What does take some courage is to say, “so-called transgender individuals are mentally ill, and their dangerous delusions must be rejected for the sake of our children, and our personal dignity as rational beings.”
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The Arizona Senate Majority Caucus announced Thursday that two Senate Bills (SBs) from Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) aimed at regulating sexually explicit performances, so minors are not exposed to them passed through the floor despite receiving no Democrat support.
“Senate Democrats don’t seem to have a problem with children being exposed to sexually explicit adult performances. If they did, they would have voted in support of these two bills. Instead, all Senate Democrats voted against protecting our Arizona kids,” the caucus tweeted.
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Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom caught the attention of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Twitter over the weekend after criticizing legislation recently signed into law in the Volunteer State.
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The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) 2023 Annual Meeting took place in Nashville this weekend at Vanderbilt University.
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The White House condemned Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for signing two pieces of legislation this week that regulate drag shows and ban minors from getting sex-change operations.
On Thursday, Lee signed SB3/HB9, which outlaws drag shows in public spaces and restricts them to age-appropriate venues, and SB1/HB1, which prohibits minors from receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed two bills Thursday, one that prohibits minors from receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and transgender surgeries, and another that outlaws drag shows in public spaces and restricts them to age-appropriate venues.
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Tennessee lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban lewd drag shows from places where children might see them.
The premise of SB 3 relies on defining drag shows as “adult cabaret” performances.
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The City of Jackson is listed as an official sponsor of Jackson Pride’s weekend LGBT pride celebration, which features an all-ages drag show.
“Jackson Pride is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQIA community and its allies. Hosted every fall right here in Jackson, TN, it celebrates inclusivity in a fun, family-friendly environment,” says the city’s official website.
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After a similar show embroiled Chattanooga Pride in controversy, Jackson Pride is set to host an all ages drag show as part of its annual pride week celebration.
“This event aims to bring the LGBTQIA+ population together, including communities within this community. Funds raised at the Jackson Pride Event will allow us to continue to expand and grow our mission of supporting diversity through awareness,” said Darren Lykes, a Jackson Pride Board Member. “We are thankful to all of the sponsors and volunteers who, without their support, we would not be able to make the event possible.”
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A conservative non-profit in Hamilton County has launched a petition to bar anyone under 18 years old from attending a drag show.
“We the people of Tennessee sign below petitioning the legislature of our state to pass a law that requires all drag performances be for persons who have reached the age of 18 and above only,” says a petition page on the group’s website. “Children under the age of 18 shall not be permitted to attend, even if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian.”
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The president of Chattanooga Pride, an LGBT non-profit in the Scenic City, says it is considering updating its guidelines for drag events after a weekend event at a brewery spawned a public relations nightmare for the organization.
Noah Corbin told The Tennessee Star in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday that the group is considering ways to alert audiences about the more provocative events that the group hosts.
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The Memphis Police Department (MPD) Monday confirmed that it did not shut down a drag show at the Memphis Museum of Science and History (MoSH), but that the museum canceled the event due to protests.
“Management of the Pink Palace chose to cancel all events [Friday], MPD Public Information Officer Theresa Carlson told The Tennessee Star. “MPD was asked to assist. No incidents occurred and no arrests were made.”
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The Arizona State Senate GOP spoke with The Arizona Sun Times via email about planned legislation that aims to prevent children from attending drag shows.
“[State] Senator Vince Leach [R-SaddleBrooke] is spearheading the effort, and he sent his ideas on the subject matter to our legislative council who is in the process right now of researching to help craft a potential bill. They will look at what’s in our constitution, what other states are doing and not doing, et cetera,” the Arizona State Senate GOP spokeswoman said.
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A drag queen who said he used to be friends with leading gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake turned on her this month after she posted some concerns about introducing sexualized drag queens to children. However, Lake made it clear that she has no problem with adults engaging in drag shows, or impersonators who aren’t sexualized interacting with children. Rick Stevens, who goes by the stage name Barbara Seville, appeared to blur the distinction. The Arizona Legislature is working on legislation to prohibit children under age 18 from attending drag shows, which Lake supports.
Lake tweeted criticism of a video of a scantily dressed drag queen dancing provocatively for young children in Dallas on June 4, stating “This is grooming. This is child abuse.”
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Republican Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini plans to introduce legislation criminalizing the act of bringing children to sex shows and drag shows, he announced Monday.
The bill, if passed, would make it a felony for an adult to bring a child to a sexually-themed drag show and allow authorities to terminate parental rights over violations, Sabatini told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The announcement came in response to a Palm Beach event titled “Pride on the Block: Drag Show for Kids!”
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The small town of Portland is in a big conflict with drag queens protesting efforts to curtail where they can put on shows. At issue in Portland, located in Middle Tennessee near the Kentucky state line, is whether drag shows can be considered an adult-oriented business and banned from residential and commercial areas. A proposed amendment to a city ordinance would restrict drag shows to industrial zones. The conflict began this summer when Elite Drag Star Productions put on two shows at Envy Bar & Restaurant on Main Street. City officials received several complaints. The production company plans to hold a “Fall Ball” at the bar Saturday. Drag shows feature men flamboyantly dressed as women, often acting in provocative ways. At a heated city council meeting last week, city leaders said they would delay a final vote until getting an opinion from the state attorney general, according to WSMV Channel 4. They said a decision would come no later than Nov. 6. “The values of our community are reflected in the ordinance,” said Mayor Kenneth Wilber. “We do not want those types of things in our normal business district, so I support it 100 percent.” However, drag performers…
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