Montana is the first state to ban Drag Queen Story Hour events, a family-friendly activity involving people dressed in drag reading books to children at public schools and libraries, part of a host of legislation aimed at the rights the LGBTQ+ community in Montana and other states.
Montana’s law specifically bans drag reading events, according to Sasha Buchert, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a national organization that seeks to protect the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community and those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.
Unlike bills in Florida and Tennessee that try to ban drag reading events that are sexual in nature, which could be up for interpretation, Montana’s legislation does not require a sexual element. Montana’s law defines an event as one hosted by a drag king or drag queen who reads children’s books to minor children.
“From community performances of Shakespeare to famous family movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, drag performances have been a form of entertainment for millions of Americans for generations. This new law will further alienate members of Montana’s LGBTQ+ community,” said Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement Wednesday.
So far in 2023, the Human Rights Campaign has tracked over 500 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States. According to the advocacy group, more than 200 of those bills directly aim at transgender rights, and 45 bills would ban or censor drag performances.
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Montana drag reading ban takes immediate effect
The new legislation took immediate effect after Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it on Monday.
The bill, co-sponsored by more than half of the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature, initially wanted to ban minors from attending drag performances that tended to “excite lustful thoughts.” But it was later amended to ban minors from attending sexually oriented or obscene performances on public property.
Gianforte signed the bill because he “believes it’s wildly inappropriate for little kids, especially preschoolers and kids in elementary school, to be exposed to sexualized content,” spokesperson Kaitlin Price said in a statement.
Drag performers have said there are separate drag performances catered for children compared to those intended for adults.
A Montana drag performer with The Mister Sisters in Great Falls, whose stage name is Julie Yard, helps organize drag reading events and said she has never been asked to organize one for any school.
In 2022, drag reading events were held at ZooMontana in Billings, Montana, and at a bookstore in downtown Helena, Montana. Another event was held a Bozeman, Montana, bookstore last weekend. While these events drew opposition and protests, the events would not be banned under the new law.
Between six to 10 events are scheduled throughout the state in the coming months. Yard said drag reading events are needed and will continue despite the protests.
“For us, it’s again just doubling down and making sure that we are sending a message out there to anyone, but especially kids who are vulnerable, that there is a place for them, there is a community for them, and that there are folks out there who are interested in making sure that they are accepted and feel safe,” Yard told the Associated Press.
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Anti-drag bills in Tennessee, Florida
Anti-drags bills in Tennessee and Florida currently face legal challenges.
Tennessee’s bill, which bans drag performances in public spaces or in the presence of children, was temporarily blocked in March. A federal judge sided with a group that filed the lawsuit and said the bill was likely vague and overly broad. The group claimed the statute violates their First Amendment rights.
In a similar legal challenge in Florida, a drag show restaurant said the state’s law denies the restaurant of its First Amendment rights to free expression. Florida’s law banned children from the restaurant’s shows, which were “family friendly” drag shows on Sundays.
Contributing: The Associated Press
