Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders plans to ban drag shows on public property, a move she argues will safeguard children and is only contentious because to the “woke dystopia of the radical left.”
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette stated that the Republican governor is prepared to sign a bill that would define drag shows as “adult-oriented performances” and ban them on public property. The bill was approved by a House subcommittee on Wednesday.
“I believe we must do everything — I’ve been very clear and discussed this at length — to safeguard children. I believe that is what this law accomplishes,” Sanders stated last month.
Sanders’ spokesperson Alexa Henning stated to the Washington Post that the bill is not intended to “ban anything,” but rather to “protect children” from being exposed to “sexually explicit drag shows.”
Sanders’ spokesperson Alexa Henning stated that the purpose of the measure is to “protect children from exposure to sexually explicit drag shows.”
She told the newspaper, “Only in the radical left’s woke dystopia is it inappropriate to protect children.”
The bill defines a drag show as an individual dancing, singing, and lip-syncing in front of an audience of two or more while using a gender identity different from the one assigned at birth.
The performers employ “clothing, makeup, or other accessories that are traditionally worn by members of the performer’s opposite sex and are meant to exaggerate their gender identity.”
Senator Clarke Tucker, a Democrat, has criticized the law as unconstitutional.
“In reality, this bill is not about governance…
It involves bullying,” he stated.
According to the Gazette, Republican Rep. Mary Bentley stated that the goal of the bill is not to target trans individuals or theatrical performances such as the Broadway hit “Tootsie,” but rather to safeguard children from sexually explicit performances.
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Some lawmakers, such as the Democrat Clarke Tucker, have criticized the bill as unconstitutional.
Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/Shutt
She stated, “We are not trying to be anti-anyone.”
Sanders, who was inaugurated in as the first female governor of Arkansas last month, has already issued executive orders prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in public schools and the use of the gender-neutral word “Latinx” in government papers.
Her executive order notes that “ethnically insensitive and derogatory language has no place in official government documents or employee titles.”
“In reality, this bill is not about governance…
It’s about bullying, said Senator Tucker.
It states that the government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use suitable terminology when referring to ethnic minorities.
The executive order continues, “Removing gender from Spanish and other romance languages is no easier than removing vowels and verbs from English.”
In addition, it states, “It is the policy of the Governor’s administration to prohibit the use of culturally insensitive language in official state government business.”
Eric Reese, the state manager for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the United States, told the Washington Post that the new legislation and executive directives are intended to convey a message of “picking a side in this culture war.”
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