How anti-drag laws are impacting Pride celebrations across the country

Miami Beach Pride, 04/06/2019
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Bills making their way through state legislatures across the country aimed at banning drag performances are creating a climate of uncertainty as LGBTQ+ Pride month nears.

In March, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill severely restricting drag shows on public property, making the state the first in the U.S. to pass such a law. Republican lawmakers in Florida followed suit in late April, passing a similar drag ban that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to sign.

Last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Tennessee law, but that has not stopped local authorities from pressuring performers not to include drag queen in their shows, as out pop star Hayley Kiyoko recently found out. Meanwhile, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a local Pride organization has already been forced to cancel its parade in anticipation of DeSantis signing the state’s drag ban into law.

In all, more than a dozen states have introduced bills aimed at banning drag shows. As a result, the Associated Press reports, the organizers of Pride celebrations in mostly conservative states are under pressure to censor their events, in some cases “editing” acts or canceling drag performances altogether.

“As soon as this stuff started making its way, I immediately started coming out with plans to be able to counteract that,” Vanessa Rodley, an organizer with Memphis’s Mid-South Pride Fest, said. “Because, at the end of the day, we can’t put on an event that then segregates a huge portion of our community, right? We just can’t do that. So you have to find ways around it.”

With Tennessee’s law still on hold, Mid-South Pride has reportedly booked…

Read full story, and more, from Source: How anti-drag laws are impacting Pride celebrations across the country