Drag queens protest DeSantis and LGBTQ bills in Florida capitol

Drag queens protest DeSantis and LGBTQ bills in Florida capitol - The Washington Post

Drag queens wearing wigs and red lipstick filled the halls of Florida’s capitol building Tuesday alongside supporters to protest more than a dozen bills Republican lawmakers are pushing that put new restrictions on LGBTQ residents.

A bill passed last week by the GOP-led state legislature allows the state to fine, suspend or revoke food and beverage licenses of businesses that allow children to attend any “adult live performance” that “appeals to a prurient, shameful, or morbid interest.” The bill describes specific actions, such as “the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

The bill does not specify drag shows, but opponents say the language targets them. The legislation appears to already be having a chilling effect. In addition to live shows, the bill prohibits cities and counties from issuing permits to other public performances that do not meet the same rules. One Florida organization has moved to cancel a gay pride parade out of fear of running afoul of the new legislation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has not yet signed the bill, but his administration has repeatedly targeted drag performances in which children were present. Advocates say it is part of a wave of recent anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the capitol. Lawmakers are also considering a bill that would criminalize using a public restroom that doesn’t correspond to one’s “biological sex” at birth. Another bill would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming care such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors.

State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican who sponsored the bill impacting drag shows, has said he is fighting “for the innocence of children.” After the House passed the gender-affirming care bill, Fine tweeted, “There is evil in this world, and we stand up to it today.”

Tuesday’s demonstration — called the Drag Queen’s March — drew drag queens and activists from throughout the state. Some wore rainbow-colored flags. Others donned fake eyelashes and long gloves. Drag performers have testified against several of the bills, but the gathering was the largest protest to date.

“The current slate of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws being passed this session is cruel, unjust, full of hypocrisy, and runs counter to the very values Republicans claim to uphold,” Darcel Stevens, a drag queen activist from Orlando who organized the protest, said in a statement about the event.

Speakers at the rally aimed most of their criticism at DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential primary next month. DeSantis has made issues that impact the LGBTQ community a priority in his aggressive agenda to change state laws in a way that he says protect children. He called drag shows that permit children to attend “a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people.”

One protester called on DeSantis, who is currently out of the country on a trade mission, to remember what he told survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, when 49 people were killed.

“After Pulse happened, you came to Pulse Orlando and laid flowers at our doorstep,” said Neema Bahrami, who was the events manager at Pulse. “You donated money, government money, to the Pulse Orlando memorial. Where is that love today, Gov. DeSantis? You lied to us, and you will keep lying to our community and to our state and to the world.”

Former state representative Carlos Guillermo-Smith, the first openly gay Latino elected to the Florida legislature, said that while the new bill against adult performances doesn’t specifically ban drag shows, that is the intention.

He compared it to the Parental Rights in Education Act, a measure passed last year that bans discussions of gender and sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. Last Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education voted to expand the law, dubbed the “don’t say gay” bill by critics, to all public school students through 12th grade.

“It relies on fear and intimidation to bully venues and cities out of welcoming drag queens and opening their doors to our community,” Guillermo-Smith said. “The shows must go on.”