Last Updated on January 10, 2023
Two Arkansas legislators introduced a bill to limit the accessibility of drag shows and performances.
An Arkansas bill introduced Monday would classify drag shows as an “adult oriented business” under the state’s legal code, similar to strip clubs and adult stores.
State Senate Bill 43 was introduced by Republican State Senator Gary Stubblefield and state Rep Mary Bentley.
The bill would amend the state legal code to list any “drag performance” as an “adult oriented business.”
Such businesses currently on the list include “an adult arcade, an adult bookstore or video store, an adult cabaret, an adult live entertainment establishment, an adult motion picture theater, an adult theater, a massage establishment that offers adult services, an escort agency, or a nude model studio.”
A drag performance is when a performer exhibits “a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other accessories that are traditionally worn by members of and are meant to exaggerate the gender identity of the performer’s opposite sex; and sings, lip-synchs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience of at least two persons for entertainment, whether performed for payment or not; and that is intended to appeal to the prurient interest,” the bill reads.
With both the Arkansas Senate and House of Representatives possessing a Republican majority, the bill is expected to pass.
Arkansas’ Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was sworn in Tuesday, made headlines after announcing a banning of TikTok on all state devices as her first executive order.
Her order makes Arkansas one of over twenty states that have established any sort of measure to limit TikTok usage on government devices.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
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