Stop Extremist Legislation Against Drag in Arkansas
On Monday, January 9th – the commencement of Arkansas’s 2023 legislative session – lawmakers introduced the first bill targeting LGBTQ Arkansans. SB43, filed by Senator Gary Stubblefield (R-26) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R-73), would revise Arkansas law to classify drag “performances” as an “adult-oriented business,” pitting drag brunch and story hour alongside sex shops, peep shows and strip clubs to limit the areas in which drag queens and transgender people may appear. However, the language of SB43 would affect not only people who dress in drag, but also transgender people who dress according to their gender identity.
Laws like SB43 are a red herring and more broadly attempt to erase LGBTQ people from public life by forcing gender norms onto private businesses and individuals. These laws are fueled by the same paranoia banning books from our libraries and censoring teachers for treating all their students the same. But this bill is even more extreme, defining drag performers simply as people who “exhibit a gender identity” different from their gender assigned at birth and “perform” for two or more people. Send an email to the Governor of Arkansas now!
Stop Extremist Legislation Against Drag in Arkansas
On Monday, January 9th – the commencement of Arkansas’s 2023 legislative session – lawmakers introduced the first bill targeting LGBTQ Arkansans. SB43, filed by Senator Gary Stubblefield (R-26) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R-73), would revise Arkansas law to classify drag “performances” as an “adult-oriented business,” pitting drag brunch and story hour alongside sex shops, peep shows and strip clubs to limit the areas in which drag queens and transgender people may appear. However, the language of SB43 would affect not only people who dress in drag, but also transgender people who dress according to their gender identity.
Laws like SB43 are a red herring and more broadly attempt to erase LGBTQ people from public life by forcing gender norms onto private businesses and individuals. These laws are fueled by the same paranoia banning books from our libraries and censoring teachers for treating all their students the same. But this bill is even more extreme, defining drag performers simply as people who “exhibit a gender identity” different from their gender assigned at birth and “perform” for two or more people. Send an email to the Governor of Arkansas now!