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Do We Need to Have Laws to Ban Kids at Drag Shows?
The simple answer to the question in the title is “No!” If we are not mindful of the legal actions we are taking against Progressives, we are going to find our own rights even further restricted. Let me explain the background for this argument, and why we would be misguided if we try to pass another law to restrict the Progressive agenda. In response to a proposed ban on allowing kids to attend drag shows in Texas, Florida legislator Anthony Sabatini decided proposing the same kind of legislation in Florida was a good idea. It’s not.
There are several reasons not to codify a response to prevent our children from being exposed to these drag shows. First, trying to determine how to flesh out the law would be an impossible task: deciding what makes a drag show, determining what can be shown and what can’t be shown, enacting penalties on the show performers and sponsors, as well as parents—or making the laws so vague that they are useless—is a waste of time. To enact a law would also impinge on parental rights, which DeSantis has worked hard to protect, and makes no sense. (DeSantis has shown an interest in the proposed law, but I’m going to bet he will not back it.) Also, drag shows can’t be treated the same as regulations for schools, where children are required to attend and which are governed by state requirements for curriculum.
So do we let our kids be exposed to these abhorrent drag shows and do nothing? That’s not helpful, either. Instead, we need to take our citizenship seriously and be proactive about protecting our kids against these demonstrations. The ways to do so are numerous. We make the decision not to attend these activities, or activities that include demonstrations of drag queens. If our kids ask us why, we should tell them: that they are demonstrating behaviors that we consider unacceptable and immoral. We might show up for protests at the venues where these events take place. I think we can do so peacefully. We can pay attention to the programs at events so that our kids don’t attend events where drag shows were not publicized. If a drag show unexpectedly commences, leave. All of these decisions would demonstrate to our children that we have the courage to live our beliefs and convictions.
We must decide if we are prepared to take action against the ongoing incursion of the LGBTQ+ agenda. That community is determined to normalize their agenda:
‘Drag is here, and it has always been here as a part of our community,’ [Tatiana] Williams said. ‘Banning drag shows out of a misguided fear that some youth might find a sense of connection with the LGBTQ+ community would be an invasion of parents’ rights to raise their children and support them as their authentic selves. When we think of educating our youth about the world, about acceptance, and about LGBTQ+ people and history, these efforts to erase our visibility are never the answer.’
This year, Pride on the Block also featured Drag Story Time to promote reading for the younger participants. Drag Queen Story Hour, an organization that celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag, said they were disappointed politicians were threatening programs like theirs.
There was a mass shooting threat, that moved Palm Beach County and LGBTQ+ to cancel this year’s Pride event, and they issued the following joint statement:
‘We live in a free society. Our strengths as a people come from the collective backgrounds, beliefs and lives of our diverse communities. We understand that there is increased rhetoric focused on limiting the freedoms of our citizenry, including an attack on the rights of parents to raise their children in a manner that is best for their families. We will continue to host our events and will provide a safe space for all open-minded, accepting individuals to enjoy the diversity of these freedom loving communities everywhere.’
The statement was signed by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center, the Pride Business Alliance, Transpire Help, and Pride on the Block.
Another factor in supporting any program sponsored by an LGBTQ+ community is that you are not only supporting everything they stand for, but you are also backing the Transgender community in particular, which has already inflicted enough damage on our society.
We have our work cut out for us. Let’s take our role seriously and not believe that government is always the solution.
[photo by quino al at unsplash.com]
Published in Culture
Yes–this question is not difficult at all. Puberty blocking drugs, surgeries mentioned above, and hormone treatments should never be prescribed off-label for children (I hesitate to say they should not ever be prescribed because I don’t know medicine to know whether there’s ever a legitimate use for them). But “gender affirmation” treatments should be against the law (especially for minors) and the cause of revocation of physician licenses, criminal charges, etc.
notice this wasn’t a problem 10 years ago?
Agreed. But it wasn’t (to my knowledge) regulated either. Public opprobrium was generally sufficient for the task.
That’s what makes these decisions so difficult. It seems like norms change overnight, but they happen gradually, and we are busy enough with our lives and don’t track the changes very well. It can be hard to know what is an irritant or small infraction, until it becomes big enough that it can’t be ignored. By then, it can be too late.
And they are. Each state need merely enact a law. Much like abortion.
And people can travel – if they must – to get the surgeries if they care That Much.
Same as it ever was.
This kind of did happen overnight.
This was a coordinated underground movement and it was promulgated by schoolteachers.
It wasn’t opprobrium.
It was the ability of a more or less moral people to govern themselves.
Is there a possibility that the Republicans are “feckless” because many of their voters, you included, say that you don’t want laws passed to deal with these issues?
I’ve been a social conservative for quite a long time. It’s a rather frustrating portion of my political ideology, because social conservatives join the Republican coalition to advance their causes, but the bulk of the coalition doesn’t seem to want what we want, and does little or nothing. Many openly support the Leftist side of these issues.
It’s not entirely fair to blame politicians for reflecting the views of the voters.
I don’t think they do. They do whatever they think is expedient and assume they know what is good for us.
At risk of hobby-horsery, our failure to teach the populace about the limits that the Constitution places on laws and lawmakers (not to mention our failure to explain how much ‘free’ costs) means that people will continue to clamor for things they can’t have.
We’ve always had people who didn’t understand how things work, but we used to use the government schools to promote citizenship.
Too often schools promote division instead.
It is a tragedy, isn’t it? Once our schools were a place where kids could come together on their own terms, without the burden of dealing with differences. I remember being in classes where we had a full range of kids: nerds, beauty queens (young girls!) and just regular young people. I wasn’t exactly a nerd, but I was known as a good student. My clothes were modest and my citizenship grades were always positive. Regardless, we were all in there together, and I honestly don’t remember differences that mattered. It was so long ago.
Per a Charles C.W. Cooke Corner post, check out this quotation from the Attorney General of Michigan:
“‘Drag queens make everything better. Drag queens are fun,’ Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says at a civil rights conference in Lansing while speaking out against what she describes as efforts to divide people. ‘A drag queen for every school,’ she adds.”
Once again, the Babylon Bee is outdone by reality.
My experience was different. I remember a number of differences — jocks, nerds, normies. There was a bit of a white-Mexican divide at my school, but it was fairly minor. There were subsets, too — the normies with mullets, the normie/rockers, and so on.
What I don’t recall are sodomites or transvestites. Zero, as far as I recall. If there were any, they were in their closets.
You’re right! I forgot those other groups. That must be because you are so much younger than I am!
Yeah, it’s just like yesterday for me. Well, about 13,500 yesterdays, since high school. :)
You might have had hippies. I suspect that mullets were a bit after your time, along with parachute pants. (Full disclosure – I never had a mullet and never wore parachute pants.)
Yesterday Nancy Pelosi, attempting to make even David French’s assertions seem tame, proclaimed that Drag Queens are “what America is all about.”
“Sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads . . .”
They think he’s a righteous dude.
Mr. Charlotte likes to muse about our enemies’ presumably gleeful reactions to these sorts of embarrassing public statements.
Did you have a whole group of dickheads? More than just you? :)
Dickheads never go out of style.