AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that aims to limit children’s exposure to drag events and also preliminarily approved a bill that could defund public libraries where drag queens read stories to children.
Senate Bill 12 bars kids from lewd drag shows and is a scaled-back version of other legislation that would have defined anyone in drag as being sexually explicit. Still, dozens of drag performers and their supporters overwhelmingly opposed the measures during legislative hearings last month. And, bill opponents say, the Republican proposals are helping to fuel an overall backlash against drag — as performers have increasingly seen protests and threats coordinated against them by activists and extremist groups.
Editor's note: Video above is from debate over Senate Bill 12. Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) of San Antonio was asking questions of Sen. Bryan Hughes, (R) of Mineola. Towards the end of the exchange, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gives a warning to Sen. Gutierrez about sticking to the topic.
The Senate voted 21-10 Tuesday to give initial approval to SB 12, which is a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick this session. The Senate then quickly gave initial approval to Senate Bill 1601 after dramatically increasing the financial toll on libraries that host drag queen story hours. A previous version of that bill barred facilities that host such events from receiving state funds the fiscal year following the event. Municipal libraries are typically funded by local tax dollars, not the state. But the version the Senate advanced Tuesday would prohibit any library hosting drag queens from receiving any public money.
Senate Bill 12 is not an outright ban on drag performances and would not automatically classify all drag shows as lewd. Instead, the bill would levy a $10,000 fine on businesses that host drag shows considered sexually oriented in front of children. Performers violating the proposed restriction would also face a Class A misdemeanor, which could result in up to a year in jail, a $4,000 fine or both. The bill describes sexually oriented performances as including someone who is naked or in drag and “[appealing] to the prurient interest in sex.”
The bill, filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, doesn’t clarify what prurient means — though the U.S. Supreme Court has defined it as “erotic, lascivious, abnormal, unhealthy, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion.”
During the debate, Hughes successfully introduced an amendment that scales down the bill’s proposed restriction for performances on public property. Under the new version, SB 12 would also apply to any sexually explicit performances — not just lewd drag shows.
“This amendment will accomplish the purpose of making sure that all obscene performances — any sexual performance inappropriate for a child, regardless of who is the performer, regardless of how they’re dressed — will be affected by the statute,” Hughes said.
SB 12’s backers — many of them social conservative groups — say the bill is needed to protect kids from seeing sexually explicit content. During the Tuesday Senate debate on the bill, Hughes echoed that reasoning.
“What adults do is a separate matter, this bill is about protecting children,” Hughes said Tuesday.
All Senate Republicans voted for SB 12. Sens. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of McAllen and Royce West of Dallas were the only Democrats to vote for SB 12.
Republicans are pushing a bevy of bills this session that threaten to upend the lives of many LGBTQ Texans. The Senate last week approved a bill that would prohibit transgender kids from updating their birth certificate so that it matches their gender. The Senate has also advanced a proposed ban on transgender kids accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy. And GOP lawmakers want to limit classroom instruction, school activities and teacher guidance about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
SB 12 is more narrow when compared to other Republican proposals for restricting drag shows. For instance, Hughes’ other proposal, Senate Bill 476, defines drag shows more broadly as individuals wearing outfits or makeup that indicate a gender different from their gender assigned at birth while performing in front of an audience for entertainment.
This wider definition could have covered activities unrelated to drag such as a transgender person singing karaoke with friends in a bar, for example, or an actor wearing a costume as part of a Shakespeare play that involves wearing clothes traditionally associated with a different gender.
Drag performers insist that SB 12 is an attack on their First Amendment rights and say the bill’s language is imprecise, opening it up to multiple interpretations. During the Tuesday Senate debate, some Democratic lawmakers also characterized the bill as “overly broad.”
“The language in the bill is so purposefully vague that it could encapsulate many forms of queer art and try to shut them down,” Austin-based drag performer Lawrie Bird told The Texas Tribune before the bill’s hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee in March.
The bill’s opponents added that it would harm restaurants and bars that use drag shows to draw in more customers or charities that host these performances as fundraisers. The measure could particularly impact businesses owned by LGBTQ Texans, they said.
“We are small-business owners in Texas trying to make our living just like everybody else,” Bird said. “And we’re a huge part of the tourism and entertainment economy here.”
During the debate Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers peppered Hughes with questions about what kind of performances the bill could ensnare. Democratic Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio prompted a long back and forth that raised questions about whether various scenarios could be considered sexually explicit. That included Gutierrez’s question about whether two men in drag kissing while walking in a Pride parade would be considered sexually explicit under the bill.
Hughes didn’t directly answer.
“Prurient interest in sex is well defined by the courts. You know that. Anybody on this floor, you and I both know — and that’s my answer,” he said. “It’s about protecting children.”
Gutierrez retorted that lawmakers should focus on gun violence instead if they want to protect kids. The San Antonio Democrat’s district includes Uvalde, where the deadliest school shooting in Texas occurred last year. Gutierrez has filed various bills this session seeking to limit access to guns.
“Listen, we could talk about protecting children all day long,” Gutierrez said. “You haven't done a whole lot there.”
Gutierrez’s repeated comments about the lack of traction of his gun legislation drew rebuke from Patrick, who presides over the Senate. At one point, Patrick told Gutierrez that if he didn’t keep his remarks limited to the drag performance bill, the lieutenant governor may not continue letting him speak.
The Senate also preliminarily approved Hughes’ other drag performer bill with a 20-9 vote. Hinojosa and West were again the only two Democratic senators voting for the legislation. Sens. Borris Miles, D-Houston, and Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, were present but didn’t vote.
SB 1601 targets drag queen story hours, often hosted in libraries, which are aimed at promoting literacy and encouraging children to read.
Republican Sen. Drew Springer of Muenster successfully broadened the bill to bar libraries from receiving any public money the year following any events in which drag performers read to kids. This means facilities violating the proposed restriction could lose revenue streams from their local governments — a crucial part of their budgets.
The Texas Library Association declined to comment on the expanded version of SB 1601.
Several Democratic lawmakers attempted to add a clause limiting the bill to only drag shows that exhibit a prurient interest in sex. But that effort failed.
During the committee hearing last month, Baylor Johnson, an Austin Public Library spokesperson, said the drag story time events hosted by his employer were age-appropriate and well-received by families. Other critics suggested lawmakers should focus more on sexual abuse by church members or gun violence if they want to shield kids from harm.
Both bills now require another Senate vote before they can advance to the House.
“We just need to understand that drag is not inherently sexual and queer expression is not inherently sexual,” Austin-based drag performer Brigitte Bandit told the Tribune before the two bills’ Senate committee hearing last month.
“I’ve had shows canceled. We’ve had people show up with guns — that’s more terrifying to kids than me looking like this right now,” said Bandit, while donned in a bright pink floor-length gown and a big pink wig.
This story comes from The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.