Producers of “hypersexualized” shows could face lawsuits if parents believe their children are subjected to obscene content in public. That’s the aim of House Bill 675, which advanced out of the Montana House Judiciary committee Friday after debate over the perceived dangers of drag shows.
HB 675 was pitched by its sponsor Rep. Caleb Hinkle, R-Belgrade, as “common sense” companion legislation for a law passed in 2023, which prohibits minors from attending drag shows.
A federal judge placed an injunction on House Bill 359, and in June 2024, it was taken up by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit has not yet issued a ruling.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris called out HB 359 for impeding free speech when there is “no evidence” that minors are threatened by drag shows.
With HB 675, Hinkle wants to grant parents the right to declare their children threatened and harmed, should they encounter a drag performer.
“We have to have grounds for recourse for the public whose children get exposed to this hypersexualized content sweeping our nation,” said Hinkle, whose bill offers detailed definitions of “drag king” and “drag queen.”
A “drag king” projects “an exaggerated masculine persona,” while a “drag queen” is distinguished by “an ultra-feminine, hypersexualized drag persona” and “adult humor.”
“Just keep kids out of anything sexually inspired or charged,” said Hinkle. “You won't get sued if you adhere to this easy ask of any other rational adult.”
HB 675 provides for “a private right of action” for anyone who suffers harm as a result of attending a drag performance. Successful lawsuits by parents who claim their children were harmed by a drag show can recover attorney fees and statutory damages in the amount of $5,000.
On the same day Montana legislators debated HB 675, the Wyoming Senate opted to not consider House Bill 134, which sought to ban public money from being used for a “sexually explicit” events.
As the Wyoming Legislature comes to a close this week with no drag show laws up for debate, some Montana lawmakers are calling for an encore in their push to expand laws regulating drag shows.
Is That Rodeo Clown In Drag?
“We are really between a rock and a hard place,” Andrea Davis, mayor of Missoula, Montana, told the Montana House Judiciary Committee on Friday.
Davis said the city issues permits for events like parades and rodeos, and HB 675 could make the city liable for damages if the parents of a child are offended by male runners in tutus or rodeo clowns.
“We have a number of events like the Missoula Marathon, which is an international event that comes to our community,” Davis said. “People run in tutus. Does that mean that these folks fall under the text of the bill, ‘fetish inspired’? Are they challenging gender norms?
“I also ask the same question at our county fairgrounds when we have a rodeo clown dressed in certain attire, a rainbow wig?”
Not all drag performances are sexual, insisted Valan Anthos, who identified himself as an attorney and drag king.
“This bill tries to redefine drag artists as inherently sexual no matter what we do, and stop our ability to perform with the threat of litigation,” said Anthos, who testified in makeup. “This is an attack on our First Amendment rights to free speech and free expression.”
Anthos said he specializes in boy band-inspired drag that’s non-sexual.
“Sexual or not, this allows for bad actors to use litigation to shut down expression that they don't like,” said Anthos, adding that HB 675 perpetuates, “the narrative that drag performers are perverts and predators, and this encourages violent behavior against my community.
“During the time when last session's anti-drag bill was passed, people sent us death threats at nearly every show due to the discourse from that bill. Even our adult-only shows, which are most of the shows that are done, will be threatened to be shot up.”
Defining ‘Drag Story Hour’
Opponents of HB 675 expressed contempt for defining "drag story hour" as “an event hosted by a drag queen or drag king who reads children's books and engages in sexual activities with minor children present.”
Raymi Samson, a drag performer who told the House Judiciary Committee she reads to children at story hours in Montana under the stage name “Unisex,” described her performance as non-sexual.
“I have performed across the state, and my intention has been everything from empowering to funny,” said Samson. “My intention is to educate young ones on diversity, being yourself. Performers in the state who participate in story hours for all-ages events are well aware of what is appropriate and what is not.”
Sarah Teague, an opponent who identified herself as a U.S. Army veteran, told the committee HB 675 is trying to put into law “false and vile definitions” of drag story hour.
“Drag performers are not the problem. It's the people accusing drag performers that are the problem,” said Teague. “Please oppose it. Stop wasting everyone's time on ignorant bills.”
Kelsen Young, who works on domestic violence issues in Montana, stated, “Drag performers are not dangerous. They're very fun to watch and they are pure joy.”
Microphone That Looks Like An Erection
At the hearing, a handout was distributed with what supporters of HB 675 offered as visual evidence of the threats posed by all-ages drag performances.
Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Belgrade, is the brother of HB 675’s sponsor Caleb Hinkle. He stepped in after public comment at the hearing to challenge opponents of the bill, calling on Kelsen Young to defend her testimony against the bill.
“This picture shows private parts, children in front of private parts, has an individual holding a mic that looks like an erect penis,” Hinkle said to Young. “And the child's mouth is on that. Stuffing dollar bills into the panties of a drag king or queen. In your testimony, you said that, basically, there's nothing wrong in that.”
Young responded, “I don't believe that those pictures reflect the situation in Montana. We have never experienced those sorts of shows here in Montana that I've known of and certainly those shows wouldn't be where children were.”
Clowning, Jesting And Bad Lip-Syncing
Throughout the hearing, the inherent sexual content of drag shows was debated, with historical lessons about the nature of entertainment mixed in.
Leo Schuman, who identified himself as a “Montana voter and blatant homosexual,” said that, “Drag queens are entertainers. They're clowns, and they're a type of clown with a long and deep cultural history as public jesters who sometimes poke fun at powerful ideas, including human sexuality and at institutions with vivid presentations and often really bad lip sync.”
Like an adult drag show that drags late into next day, the House Judiciary Committee reconvened Saturday to vote on HB 675. It passed out of committee with Republican support on a party-line 11-9 vote.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
