If Kids Go To Drag Show Parents Should Be Charged: FL State Rep

FLORIDA — A GOP lawmaker wants to penalize parents who take their children to drag shows in Florida, calling for felony charges against adults who bring minors to such events.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has already indicated that he supports such a measure.

Tweeting Monday about an LGBTQ+ pride event for children in West Palm Beach, State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Howey-in-the-Hills) said he plans to introduce legislation targeting parents who take their children to drag performances.

“I will be proposing legislation to charge (with) a felony (and) terminate the parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows aimed at (Florida) kids,” he wrote. “When will the sexualization of children stop?”

His comments follow controversy in Texas over the Dallas bar Mr. Misster, which hosted a family-friendly drag show over the weekend. After that event, Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton said he plans to file a bill banning children at drag shows.

“The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children,” the Texan said in a statement. “As a father of two young children, I would never take my children to a drag show and I know … the rest of my Republican colleagues wouldn’t either.”

Former LGBT pastor and drag performer Momma Ashley Rose told Patch she’s seen firsthand the benefits of hosting drag shows geared toward children.

“I feel that it brings an openness to these kids who have a creative mind,” she said. “It is a creative avenue. It is an art, and these kids are going to do this whether we let them or not. We understand that these shows can be done, and they can be done safely.”

In Florida, DeSantis said he’s already asked his staff to consider Sabatini’s proposal to make it a felony to bring minors to a drag performance, WTSP reported.

When asked about the state lawmaker’s comments during a news conference in Fort Myers Beach Wednesday, the governor said, “We have laws against child endangerment.”

Sabatini told Spectrum News 13 in Orlando that he’s not targeting drag shows in general, just drag events that welcome children.

“If people want to do these drag shows on their own time, that’s fine, whatever, but not involving kids, not aimed at kids, not tailored for kids because we need to protect kids and it’s not normal, it’s not good to have them exposed to sexual content,” the state representative said.

Lakeland-based artist Rose has performed in drag for more than 20 years and runs the nonprofit organization Rose Dynasty Foundation Inc., which hosts family-friendly drag shows to promote diversity and inclusion.

She told Patch she’s concerned about Florida leaders proposing the criminalization of children’s drag shows, as it directly impacts her nonprofit’s work in the community — but she’s not surprised that such legislation is in the works.

As soon as Rose saw the recent controversy in Texas, she knew “Florida was next,” she said. “We knew this was going to happen.”

Rose added, “It’s heartbreaking that this is even an issue and a conversation when there are more important things to be talking about. It could pretty much shut what I do down. I don’t even know what to do. Our kids are already upset that they could lose this safe space.”

Stephanie Stuart, a New Port Richey-based drag performer, has participated in a number of Drag Queen Story Hour events in the Tampa Bay area. She called the possibility of a law preventing children from attending drag events “ridiculous.”

“I've had several drag shows involving children. If a parent wants to take a child to a drag show, that should be their business and no one else's,” Stuart said. “If we have the choice whether or not to vaccinate, we should also have the choice whether or not to take our children wherever we choose.”

Mandy Keyes, who hosted Drag Queen Story Hour events at her St. Petersburg café, is appalled by Sabatini’s proposed bill.

“Drag can absolutely be family friendly. Drag is about self-expression, dressing up and having fun. When I hosted Drag Queen Story Hour at my cafe, it was such a beautiful atmosphere full of joy,” she told Patch. “Kids love dressing up, and there's nothing sexual about it. In fact, I'd say pageant culture is much more harmful in the way that kids are exposed to actual sexualization, and yet that's legal. This type of legislation is nothing more than homophobia and transphobia in disguise, and a thin disguise at that.”

Logan Mosby George, a parent in Pinellas County, has attended several Drag Queen Story Hour readings with her two young children and is concerned that the proposed law could impact access to these events, which promote literacy and a love of reading.

“Story hours create a safe and accepting atmosphere that encourages children to read in a whimsical way. There is nothing sexual about these events at all,” she told Patch. “If my children walk away with another lesson on the gifts of reading, and the message that people come in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles, I'm absolutely here for it. Children don't come into this world as bigots - they are taught to be bigots.”

Aly Arias, a mother who recently lived in South Florida, added, “If kids can go to Hooters, kids can go to a drag show where sex isn’t on display. It’s absolutely ridiculous there is even talk about criminalizing this.”

Former St. Petersburg resident Joran Oppelt agrees.

“It’s performance art — like theater or clowning. If we’re going to restrict children’s access to art, does that mean David’s penis will be blurred out or chipped away? If we’re going to restrict their access to cross-dressing or gender-bending in theater, does that mean there will be no more Peter Pan? No more Shakespeare?” he said. “I think the legislators are straight up confused about what drag is.”

Stephanie Katz, a librarian and parent in Manatee County, expressed concern about parents’ rights being taken away.

“Whether or not a child accompanies a parent to a live performance of anything — a concert, a play, a poetry reading, a game, a drag show — is a choice made by the parent,” she told Patch. “That should be 100 percent their right. The provider of the show and the venue also have the right to put an age requirement on an event for any reason. This isn’t a problem for government to solve because it’s not even a problem. It’s policing the LGBT+ community.”