A conservative group in Idaho, USA, claims they’ve developed legislation that will call for a state-wide ban on public drag performances, and there are local legislators ready to introduce the bill.
The Idaho Family Policy Center says it’s time legislators took action against drag performers and brought in laws outlawing their performances in public spaces.
The group’s president, Blaine Conzatti, told local media outlet Idaho Capital Sun that they expect their bill to be put forward when the state’s politicians reconvene in early 2023. Conzatti was not willing to share a copy of the bill they’ve developed, or reveal which politicians they had been collaborating with.
The group says the laws are needed because drag performers have begun appearing at events held in public including Drag Queen Storytime events, and pride parades that take place in public venues and streets.
“No child should ever be exposed to sexual exhibitions like drag shows in public places, whether that’s at a public library or a public park,” he said.
Conzatti argues that there is a section of the state’s constitution that the first concern of good government is the virtue and sobriety of the people and the purity of the home, and lawmakers should take action to protect morality.
The local queer community say there’s a much simpler approach if you don’t like drag shows – just don’t go.
Boise Pride Executive Director Donald Williamson said despite the Idaho Family Policy Center’s claim that their proposed law would be enforceable and constitutional, he can’t see it standing up to legal scrutiny.
It’s just wrong on so many levels,” Williamson said. “If you don’t agree with the performances, then you don’t go. It’s just like any other venue. It’s why I don’t go to country music concerts; it’s not my cup of tea.” he told the newspaper.
The Idaho Family Policy Center is a relatively new organisation that was only founded in 2021, but they’ve quickly put forward a lot of extreme policy proposals.
As Bryan Clark at the Idaho Statesman outlines, they’ve lobbied for a variety of new laws including making Librarians criminally responsible if a minor accessed “obscene materials” via library resources, a ban on gender affirming care to minors, and a push to allow relatives of an aborted fetus to take legal action against medical staff providing healthcare.
Clark interviewed Conzatti who described himself as a Christian Nationalist who hopes to transform all laws to aligning with “biblical laws”.
Conzatti denied his push to ban drag performance in public would affect transgender people. He said he proposed law would only target people who dress up and perform as the opposite sex and present as a caricature or perform in a sexual manner, which suggests he probably hasn’t actually seen a lot of drag shows.
The conservative lobbyist outlined that he supported laws based on biblical teachings, including criminal penalties for not obeying your parents, or having sex outside of marriage, but did not support capital or corporal punishment for such offences.
While the world envisaged by the extremist group seems far-fetched, local community members have reportedly been astounded by how quickly conservative politicians in the state have given voice to them.
OIP Staff
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