In an effort to shield kids from explicit sexual content on television, Montana has become the first in the United States to outlaw drag story times in public schools, as well as libraries.
This was enacted on May 22 and became effective right away once Governor Greg Gianforte gave it his signature.
Montana Protects Children
The law was created to safeguard children from inappropriate conduct on public property and to forbid minors from going to concerts. Drag queens, drag kings, and story hours are all defined by the law.
A drag queen, according to the new legislation, is a male or female performer who assumes a theatrical or parodic feminine character with dazzling or excessive clothing and makeup; whereas a drag king is a performer who assumes a flashy male character.
Montana becomes the first state to ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries. https://t.co/tuWh8lOPpQ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 24, 2023
The Republican governor approved the law. He thinks it is wildly unsuitable for young children, particularly toddlers and children in primary school, to be confronted with sexualized content.
#Montana has become the first state in the union to ban “drag story hour” for children at public schools and libraries. https://t.co/DaE3YdCcBs
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 28, 2023
Tennessee and Florida have passed legislation outlawing sexualized drag shows that children are attending. These proposals concentrate on safeguarding kids in classrooms and libraries.
The distinction made by the Montana law is it excludes events that are sponsored by drag performers who recite books for children to children. It can be prohibited without having a sexual component.
The laws in Florida and Tennessee mandate that sexual content be present in shows. That could be subject to legal debate and interpretation.
Drag is Not For Kids
The measure was written by Braxton Mitchell, a Republican state representative. He explained why he did it by saying that drag shows over the past few years have been deliberately targeted at children.
He declared, especially in reference to internet recordings, that in his humble perspective, there is absolutely no such thing as a child-friendly drag performance.
This article appeared in The Patriot Brief and has been published here with permission.
