Bill targeting drag show access advances to House floor

BOISE — A bill meant to restrict minors’ access to drag shows and “sexual exhibitions” advanced to the House floor Wednesday.

The Christian-focused lobby group the Idaho Family Policy Center drafted House Bill 230, which allows parents or guardians of minors to file lawsuits for at least $5,000 if they feel their children were exposed to “sexual conduct.” The Idaho attorney general or county prosecutor could also file for injunctive relief to stop the action if they have "reason to believe" that the bill will be violated. 

Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, is the legislative sponsor.

Edward Clark, a policy assistant at the center, said the standards in the bill were based on the Federal Communications Commission’s standards for what can be broadcast on daytime television.

Sexual conduct is defined in the bill as acts or depictions of “masturbation, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person’s unclothed genitals or pubic area” and “sexually provocative dances or gestures performed with accessories that exaggerate male or female primary or secondary sexual characteristics.” 

Organizers of events must restrict minors' access if it includes this conduct and it is "patently offensive to an average person applying contemporary community standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors." 

The FCC prohibits “indecent” material during daytime hours, which is defined as “material that, in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.”

There are no restrictions in FCC guidelines that mention “accessories that exaggerate male or female primary or secondary sexual characteristics.” 

The policy center has said the aim is to ban public drag shows as well as burlesque and pole dancing performances. There is an exemption in the bill for high school and college dance and cheer teams as part of official school events.

Eight people testified at the hearing Wednesday, with five of them opposed and three in support.

Jessica Strebe said she has performed as a drag king at multiple family-friendly events including wearing a “male silicone chest” while performing as He-Man. Strebe referred to a 2023 bill that had a similar aim, which she also opposed.

“The reality is, this bill hasn’t changed much since last time,” she said. “You are still going after our accessories that exaggerate primary and secondary sex characteristics, and like I mentioned last time, that does include things like bras or even male ballet pants, which would profoundly affect the arts in Idaho and cause many artists to not be able to perform in public here. But ultimately, I don’t believe you understand how drag works.”

Boise resident Mary Ellen Nourse spoke in support of the bill because of an experience she had outside of a Boise Pride event a little over two years ago. She said that she and her husband joined a men’s prayer group in a prayer circle just outside the event at the park. She said the group drew a group of attendees who were offended by the prayer group, but most of them left after a time.

“One member did stay behind. This person was a drag, at least I assume a drag, the way that he was dressed, this person proceeded to dance in an impish, odd way around our prayer circle,” Nourse said. “... the men kept praying, so the frustrated drag person ... proceeded to go around the circle, sniffing the men’s crotches.”

Coeur d’Alene resident Stefanie Fetzer also spoke in support and discussed her frustration with a North Idaho College annual drag event that is often advertised as all ages. She said amid protests from the community, the event is usually changed to 18-plus.

Sarah Lynch is also a Kootenai County resident who was a public safety liaison when 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were arrested and charged for conspiring to riot at the Coeur d’Alene Pride event in 2023.

She also highlighted that from that event, a blogger distributed a doctored video of a drag performer to falsely accuse him of exposing himself to the crowd at that event. A jury awarded the performer more than $1.1 million in damages after he sued for defamation, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported.

Lynch said she believes the bill targets the LGBTQ+ community and "only serves to embolden dangerous groups to make peaceful events like Pride celebrations unsafe." 

Vincent Diaz is also a drag performer who said that all-ages drag shows "create a safe spaces for queer youth and their families" and argued that the bill was addressing a "made up problem." 

"I want you to think, in your whole adult lives, how many times does a drag show happen upon you in a public space? For me, I can tell you it's been zero," Diaz said. 

He and others also argued the bill may run afoul of First Amendment protections to free expression, although Clark and Hill said that the bill falls within allowable restrictions on the basis of "time, place and manner." 

Hill also said that drag shows are not specifically identified in the bill.

"This is all about protecting the public sphere, and saying they don't do these at Pride parades, I would testify that that is completely not true," Hill said. "Because I've seen them, and they can be somewhat amazing to see, but that isn't the focus of this." 

Reps. Brooke Green, D-Boise; and Todd Achilles, D-Boise, expressed concerns over the exact language in the bill, including the ability to seek injunctive relief if they have reason to believe someone or an institution "is about to violate" the requirements. 

The Democrats were the only no votes on the bill, which advances to the full House for a vote.