We’re in that quiet week between Christmas and New Years, so of course conservative extremists are still yelling about drag queens. After all, who is better than the party of children and families to try and terrorize innocent members of a marginalized population over the holiday season? Hot cocoa and homophobia, courtesy of today’s Republican voter base.
More specifically, we have a situation brewing in Orlando. Here’s the deal: A Christmas-themed drag show is touring the nation and visiting a couple dozen cities. Fun! The show is called “A Drag Queen Christmas” and is making stops in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Clearwater. According to its production website, the tour has existed for eight years and has included stops in Florida many times before this year.
What’s not fun? Bryan Griffin, who serves as press secretary for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, has given a statement pledging that the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is going to investigate the show. Why? Because of concerns that it includes a “sexually explicit performance marketed to children.” The department is apparently using videos and photos from the Fort Lauderdale show to see if people under 18 were present.
RELATED STORY: Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok derides queer community in hour-long spiel with Tucker Carlson
Here is Griffin’s tweet.
As reported by Florida Politics, details on age entry do vary depending on the city’s local regulations. For example, the Miami listing says the show includes “adult content” and is recommended for people who are 18 and older. Minors are allowed but “must be accompanied by an adult.” On the other hand, in Clearwater, you must be 18 to attend, period. According to local outlet WFLA, proof of age is required to attend these events.
Logically, this makes sense. Some drag really is aimed at adults. Some shows are geared toward families. And just like sometimes parents or guardians take their minors to R-rated movies with them, sometimes adults take younger people to drag shows with them if allowed. It’s also not necessarily children attending—it could be, say, a 17-year-old who is technically a minor but is going with their parents for a family activity. Obviously it just depends. And that’s fine! It can just depend.
But apparently, to some people, it isn’t fine. It can’t just depend. It has to be (squints) satanic?
“It’s really gotten out of hand,” an unnamed protester told local outlet NBC 6 Miami. “It’s a really satanic situation. It is to pervert our children and we cannot permit that.”
Friends: It is not satanic. It is not to “pervert” anyone’s children. The only thing out of hand is Republican belligerence and hate.
But what are the stakes here? Well, according to CBS News, the state agency could technically revoke the liquor licenses of host venues. And in the big picture, DeSantis and his Republican cronies are coming down hard on any public queerness. Remember, this is the same guy who signed the heinous Don’t Say Gay bill into law. Conservatives are trying to see how much anti-LGBTQ+ hate and discrimination they can get away with without losing their voter base, and the sad reality is, it’s probably a lot.
Are all drag shows appropriate for minors? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean we ban family-friendly drag from existing. And it definitely doesn’t mean we criminalize drag, period, which seems to be what Republicans are hoping to accomplish.
What better way to wrap up the year than by previewing the biggest contests of 2023 on this week's episode of The Downballot? Progressives will want to focus on a Jan. 10 special election for the Virginia state Senate that would allow them to expand their skinny majority; the April 4 battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could let progressives take control from conservatives; Chicago's mayoral race; gubernatorial contests in Kentucky and Louisiana; and much, much more. Of course, we might've thought we were done with 2022 after Georgia, but Kyrsten Sinema decided to make herself the center of attention again.
However, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain why there's much less than meets the eye to her decision to become an independent: She can't take away the Democratic majority in the Senate, and her chances at winning re-election are really poor. In fact, there's good reason to believe she'd hurt Republicans more in a three-way race. The Davids also discuss the upcoming special election for Virginia's dark blue 4th Congressional District, where the key battle for the Democratic nomination will take place in less than a week.
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More specifically, we have a situation brewing in Orlando. Here’s the deal: A Christmas-themed drag show is touring the nation and visiting a couple dozen cities. Fun! The show is called “A Drag Queen Christmas” and is making stops in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Clearwater. According to its production website, the tour has existed for eight years and has included stops in Florida many times before this year.
What’s not fun? Bryan Griffin, who serves as press secretary for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, has given a statement pledging that the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is going to investigate the show. Why? Because of concerns that it includes a “sexually explicit performance marketed to children.” The department is apparently using videos and photos from the Fort Lauderdale show to see if people under 18 were present.
RELATED STORY: Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok derides queer community in hour-long spiel with Tucker Carlson
Here is Griffin’s tweet.
As reported by Florida Politics, details on age entry do vary depending on the city’s local regulations. For example, the Miami listing says the show includes “adult content” and is recommended for people who are 18 and older. Minors are allowed but “must be accompanied by an adult.” On the other hand, in Clearwater, you must be 18 to attend, period. According to local outlet WFLA, proof of age is required to attend these events.
Logically, this makes sense. Some drag really is aimed at adults. Some shows are geared toward families. And just like sometimes parents or guardians take their minors to R-rated movies with them, sometimes adults take younger people to drag shows with them if allowed. It’s also not necessarily children attending—it could be, say, a 17-year-old who is technically a minor but is going with their parents for a family activity. Obviously it just depends. And that’s fine! It can just depend.
But apparently, to some people, it isn’t fine. It can’t just depend. It has to be (squints) satanic?
“It’s really gotten out of hand,” an unnamed protester told local outlet NBC 6 Miami. “It’s a really satanic situation. It is to pervert our children and we cannot permit that.”
Friends: It is not satanic. It is not to “pervert” anyone’s children. The only thing out of hand is Republican belligerence and hate.
But what are the stakes here? Well, according to CBS News, the state agency could technically revoke the liquor licenses of host venues. And in the big picture, DeSantis and his Republican cronies are coming down hard on any public queerness. Remember, this is the same guy who signed the heinous Don’t Say Gay bill into law. Conservatives are trying to see how much anti-LGBTQ+ hate and discrimination they can get away with without losing their voter base, and the sad reality is, it’s probably a lot.
Are all drag shows appropriate for minors? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean we ban family-friendly drag from existing. And it definitely doesn’t mean we criminalize drag, period, which seems to be what Republicans are hoping to accomplish.
What better way to wrap up the year than by previewing the biggest contests of 2023 on this week's episode of The Downballot? Progressives will want to focus on a Jan. 10 special election for the Virginia state Senate that would allow them to expand their skinny majority; the April 4 battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could let progressives take control from conservatives; Chicago's mayoral race; gubernatorial contests in Kentucky and Louisiana; and much, much more. Of course, we might've thought we were done with 2022 after Georgia, but Kyrsten Sinema decided to make herself the center of attention again.
However, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain why there's much less than meets the eye to her decision to become an independent: She can't take away the Democratic majority in the Senate, and her chances at winning re-election are really poor. In fact, there's good reason to believe she'd hurt Republicans more in a three-way race. The Davids also discuss the upcoming special election for Virginia's dark blue 4th Congressional District, where the key battle for the Democratic nomination will take place in less than a week.
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