Tag Archives: drag shows

Austin’s NRP affiliate reports: A student LGBTQ+ organization is suing Texas A&M University over its newly adopted policy banning drag performances on its public campuses. The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the Queer Empowerment Council, a coalition of student groups at Texas A&M University-College Station. The lawsuit aims to block the university from enforcing the policy, which the …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Friday passed a resolution banning all drag performances from taking place on its 11 university campuses. This means that Draggieland, a beloved annual event scheduled for March 27 at the Rudder Theatre on the College Station campus, will have to find a new venue. The resolution also …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request made by an LGBTQ student group that was hoping to host a “PG-13” drag show on the campus of West Texas A&M University over the objections of administrators. The court decision in a brief unsigned order means the group, Spectrum WT, likely will not be able to hold the …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A federal judge won’t limit his previous ruling that temporarily blocked a Florida law he has determined violated the constitutional rights of drag performers.  U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell on Wednesday denied a motion asking that his injunction blocking the law apply only to the plaintiff in the case, the Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in downtown Orlando. …

The Columbus Dispatch reports: Drag performances in Ohio would be banned from public parks, parades and other places children might be if a bill introduced by House Republicans becomes law. House Bill 245 would expand the definition of adult cabaret performers from strippers and topless dancers to include “entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer’s …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: A federal court blocked Florida’s new drag show law, ruling the state’s effort to bar children from attending “adult live performances,” is overly vague and likely unconstitutional. The decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell comes only a day after another federal court overturned another Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed law prohibiting gender-affirming care treatment in Florida …

The Hill reports: Texas has become the latest in a growing number of states to pass legislation that LGBTQ rights groups say targets drag shows, banning “sexually oriented performances” that take place in the presence of minors. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quietly signed the state’s Senate Bill 12 into law June 18. His office did not immediately respond to …

Brody Levesque reports at the Los Angeles Blade: U. S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker of the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee declared Tennessee’s anti-drag Adult Entertainment Act to be unconstitutional. Parker’s ruling comes after a two-day trial last month. A Shelby County-Memphis based LGBTQ theatre company, Friends of George’s, had sued the state …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Legislature gave final approval Sunday to a bill that will criminalize performers that put on sexually explicit shows in front of children as well as any businesses that host them. Originally designed as legislation to restrict minors from attending certain drag shows, lawmakers agreed on bill language that removed direct reference to drag performers …

From the Facebook page of the Orlando Hamburger Mary’s: After many days of consideration, Mike Rogier and I have made the decision to file a lawsuit against our Governor for his signing of Senate Bill 1438 – Protection of Children. This bill has nothing to do with children, and everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community. …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House gave initial approval to a bill restricting children from seeing sexually explicit performances on Friday. Senate Bill 12 was originally designed to restrict kids from attending drag shows, but its most recent version seeks to criminalize any live performance that the bill defines as sexual. It defines a sexually explicit performance as one …

The South Florida Gay News reports: In the week since Wilton Manors’ city commission voted unanimously to amend the permit for the Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival, people on both sides of the issue on whether or not to comply with drag laws have lashed out. The amendment ensures event producers follow all laws, including ones passed since the …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: A pride event in downtown Tampa was cancelled after a bill concerning “adult live performances” was signed into law Wednesday. On Thursday, Tampa Pride President Carrie West confirmed that the organization will not host its Pride on the River event this year. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB-1438, titled “Protection of Children,” into law in Tampa on …

The Fayetteville Observer reports: House Bill 673, “Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment,” would prohibit “adult live entertainment” on private property in the presence of anyone under age 18 and not allow it at all on public property. “Adult live entertainment” is defined as “a performance featuring topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that …

South Florida Gay News reports: Drag queens and other performers who work up and down Wilton Drive, filed into the city commission chamber at Wilton Manors City Hall. They, along with other citizens, stood up and spoke out, urging commissioners to stand with them against the tyranny of Tallahassee. In the end, the panel sympathized, empathized, and voted against them. …

Florida Politics reports: In Iowa Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said “drag queens” were part of the reason people didn’t want to enlist in the United States military. “When you see videos of folks recruiting for the military services using things like drag queens, you know, that is just fundamentally wrong,” DeSantis said in Sioux Center at the Feenstra Family Picnic, …

The Associated Press reports: Alabama has joined states trying to limit drag shows after legislation was filed Thursday that would prohibit the performances in public places where children are present. The bill by Republican Rep. Arnold Mooney would add a provision to the state’s anti-obscenity laws to prohibit “male or female impersonators, commonly known as drag queens or drag kings” …

From the website of the host brewery: Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) and Land-Grant Brewing Company are back for the 2nd Annual Land-Grant Drag Brunch on Saturday, April 29th, benefiting KYC and LGBTQIA+ youth in our community! Hosted by Anisa Love and Virginia West, this is a FREE admission event, but this year we are introducing very limited VIP seating where …

First, a related report from GLAAD: GLAAD found 166 incidents of anti-LGBTQ protests and threats targeting drag events since early 2022, with a sharp uptick beginning in Pride season 2022 and continuing through the midterm election cycle. False rhetoric was deployed against performers in campaign ads for the 2022 midterm elections, and rhetoric escalated to violence including the firebombing of …

ABC News reports: Hundreds of drag performers and allies rallied in Florida Tuesday afternoon against recent legislation that organizers say is attacking the LGBTQ community. The rally drew advocates from across the state to Tallahassee for a march to the state Capitol, where speakers included state Sen. Shevrin Jones. “First of all, I want to acknowledge your existence,” Jones said …