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This Week In Statehouse Action: I Wanna Know What Law Is edition [1]

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Date: 2023-02-10  

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, folks.

Ugh.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m all about love in its many forms.

It’s just that I think the holiday is wretched.

Besides, my true love is … statehouse action.*

And statehouse action doesn’t send roses.

You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away: The GOP quest to erase transgender and other LGBTQ folks continues.

Honestly, when was the last time I didn’t need to include this hateful crap in this missive?

Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but I sure wish Republican state lawmakers would stop copying Florida’s heinous “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Oh, and because GOP lawmakers in Missouri apparently hate fun as much as they hate LGBTQ folks, they’re trying to basically outlaw drag.

The Look Of Love: Real talk: I’m a bumpkin country mouse who didn’t even see her first drag show until college, but you don’t have to be a small-town nerd on a scholarship to understand that these shows are about – among many other good things – inclusiveness, personal expression, freedom, joy, subverting and expanding standards of beauty … and yeah, they’re fun as heck, too.

But Republicans all across the country who are apparently pants-wettingly frightened of folks who don’t look and act like them are trying to put an end to that fun, and the joy, freedom, inclusiveness, etc. that go with it.

And before you dismiss this legislation as a bunch of extremist bills with no chance of becoming law, you should bear in mind that all these bills have been introduced in states with GOP-controlled legislatures and GOP governors – many of whom have already shown open hostility to the LGBTQ community.

In Arkansas , Republican state Rep. Mary Bentley is one of 30 lawmakers cosponsoring a bill to prohibit children from watching drag shows – a bill that’s so poorly written that might outlaw things like student plays. The measure was approved by a House committee this week. The state Senate passed it last week.

A proposed bill in Montana would prohibit public schools and libraries from hosting drag performances during school hours or at school-sanctioned extracurricular activities. Librarians or educators convicted of violating the ban would face $5,000 fines and the potential revocation of their teaching license.

Last week, the North Dakota House approved a drag show ban that would categorize repeated performances in front of children as a felony. The measure awaits consideration in the state Senate.

In South Carolina , lawmakers may soon begin hearing a so-called “Defense of Children’s Innocence Act,” which explicitly bars schools and publicly funded entities from using taxpayer dollars to provide a drag show. Further, anyone who allows a minor to view a drag show could be charged with a felony.

South Dakota lawmakers are considering a change to state education law that would prohibit university systems and public schools from using public money and facilities to “develop, implement, facilitate, host, promote, or fund any lewd or lascivious content” — specifically including drag performances.

And while the state now has a Democratic governor guaranteed to veto such hateful legislation, Republican lawmakers in Arizona have filed multiple bills targeting drag shows, including a measure that would classify drag performers, their shows, and establishments that host them as “adult-oriented businesses” — which would lump them in under existing law that regulates strip clubs, erotic massage parlors, and “adult” movie theaters.

You can read the rest of this week’s edition here!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/10/2152283/-This-Week-In-Statehouse-Action-I-Wanna-Know-What-Law-Is-edition

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