“Drag is not a criminal act,” said North Texas LGBT Chamber CEO Tony Vedda in explaining
why the chamber has joined a legal challenge to SB 12.
NT LGBT Chamber is a plaintiff in one of 2 lawsuits targeting the Texas ‘drag ban law’
From Staff Reports
Officials with the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce have announced that the organization is one of several plaintiffs in a legal challenge to Senate Bill 12 filed Friday, Aug. 4, by the Texas Civil Rights Project. Other plaintiffs in the TCRP suit include other
Texas LGBT Chambers, VORTEX Repertory Company, and individual performers.
SB 12 is the law passed during the Texas Legislature’s regular session that ended in May commonly known as the drag ban. It is set to take effect on Sept. 1 and could have significant impact on Pride in Dallas’ plans for its second annual Pride Parade on Sept. 17 as well as other upcoming LGBTQ events and celebrations, including Tarrant County Pride’s Parade and Water Gardens Festival and picnic in Trinity Park, set for Oct. 7-8, and the annual Halloween Block Party on Cedar Springs Road set for Oct. 28.
Chamber President and CEO Tony Vedda said in a press release announcing the lawsuit that “SB 12, as it is, is an ineffective and ambiguous law that places unnecessary burdens on our members and their customers, limiting the rights of Texans, including small businesses and nonprofits. Rather than primarily focusing on broadening the economic inclusion of the LGBTQ community, this legislation forces us to educate our members about SB 12’s restrictive nature.
“I firmly believe that SB 12 infringes upon all Texans’ basic First Amendment rights,” Vedda said. “We fervently believe that drag is not a criminal act, and it is essential to overturn this law to safeguard the right of all Texans to express themselves freely.”
The chamber’s announcement said SB12 “directly targets LGBTQ Texans” but that it also “infringes upon the civil liberties and freedom of expression for all individuals in Texas, stifling their ability to participate in performances. … Furthermore, its vague language opens the door to the punishment and criminalization of various forms of entertainment, including theater productions, cheerleading events, concerts and any artistic expression that may be deemed sexually oriented.”
The “misguided law” would “significantly impact multiple industries, performers, and businesses, hindering their revenue generation,” the press release continued. “Businesses that support these performances in the presence of minors may face severe fines that burden their ability to operate and succeed. Moreover, the law paves the way for discrimination by business services, such as denying insurance coverage to venue owners.
Saying that the “free expression of the LGBTQ community has always been targeted by those in power,” Dustin Rynders, criminal injustice program director at the Texas Civil Rights Project, declared, “SB12 is no different from old discriminatory laws that used to criminalize women who wore pants. But despite what some Texas politicians believe, we know that drag is not a crime.”
According to the press release, the North Texas LGBT Chamber is “committed to fighting against this law because the state government should not have the authority to strip its citizens of their fundamental rights. Everyone deserves to live in a Texas that embraces authenticity and allows people to truly be themselves.
“Our members and our community deserve the freedom to run their businesses without fear of unwarranted repercussions caused by baseless legislation,” the statement continued. “The right for individuals to live, work and perform authentically is a fundamental right that must be protected for all Texans. We believe everyone should feel safe in their communities and places of business. Unfortunately, this law only serves to embolden harassment and hate.”
The TCRP/North Texas Chamber lawsuit was the second filed last week challenging SB 12: The ACLU of Texas filed suit Wednesday, Aug. 2, on behalf of the Woodlands Pride, Abilene Pride Alliance, Extragrams LLC, 360 Queen Entertainment LLC and Brigitte Bandit.
In a press release announcing that lawsuit, the ACLU charges that SB 12 “violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and threatens the livelihood and free expression of many Texans, including drag performers. … The law is written in a way that could censor a large number of constitutionally protected performances, from touring Broadway plays and professional cheerleading routines to karaoke nights and drag shows, anywhere that anyone under the age of 18 may be present.”
ACLU of Texas attorney Brian Klosterboer said, “The Texas Drag Ban is stunningly broad in scope and will chill entire genres of free expression in our state. This law flies in the face of the First Amendment. No performer should ever be thrown in jail because the government disfavors their speech, and we are asking the court to block this affront to every Texan’s constitutional rights.”
Drag queen Brigitte Bandit, one of the plaintiffs in the ACLU challenge, said, “Our community will not be used as a scapegoat or a distraction by politicians who do not know who we are or what we do. State leaders should focus on legitimate issues, not political stunts.”
Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez said that through SB 12, “anti-LGBTQIA extremists have demonstrated their determination to dictate their morality. …
When I last checked, Texas was a free state, and we all had the right to determine our own values and make our own decisions, so long as we weren’t harming others. This fear-mongering about the art of drag is meant to deprive us of our humanity and encourages vigilantism. … It is no surprise that Texas has reported the highest number of violent threats to drag performers, venues, and attendees in the country.”
And Andrea Segovia, senior field and policy advisor with Transgender Education Network of Texas, warned that SB 12 is designed to “chip away at our freedoms and eventually erase queer and trans existence from the public sphere.” But, she stressed, “Our community and our art will not be silenced or erased. Our community has fought too long to exist to let a drag ban stop us from challenging gender norms, celebrating our identities and preserving queer culture.”
I’ve been around in the gay scene since the mid 1980s. In all that time, there has never been any real controversy over drag shows or drag queens. The reason for this is simple: you only found them where you expected to find them. They practically never popped up in a venue open to the general public, at least not the “straight” public. Of course, there was nothing preventing straight people from patronizing a gay night club, if they so desired, but that meant they had to be at least 18 years old. No big deal.
The situation is really, really simple. The heterosexual public is not interested in having drag shows pop up in places where their children might be exposed to them. You don’t have to rack your brain trying to figure out why. Parents don’t need to provide you with an explanation and you’re not likely to agree with their reasoning anyway. Too bad. OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDREN are not your concern and you have no moral or legal right to question the parents’ decisions.
Why do we care, anyway? Drag belongs to us. It was always our thing and there was a time when the gay community didn’t want disapproving straight people (breeders) infringing on our world but for some reason, this all changed over the last seven to ten years and you have to ask yourself why. Why is it so important that other people’s children are exposed to campy, over sexualized, caricatures of women? It’s a very strange compulsion being made into an issue which, quite frankly, is looking more and more like an agenda, rather than a fight for freedom of expression.
And of course, that’s exactly what it is; an agenda. When you cancel an entire event because underage children won’t be allowed to attend, then this is no longer about the freedom to “be who you are”. It’s a clear signal that the entire purpose of the event was to expose little kids to your sexuality and lifestyle. What the gay community at large can’t seem to figure out is that they’re being used as pawns in a socio-political experiment and the people pushing it don’t actually give a rats ass about the ramifications it will have for the community as a whole.
I can guarantee you, this is not a battle you’re going to win, nor is it worth the fight.
I hate to break it to you, but there is growing number of us “regular ole’ gay people” who are on the side of parents. That means you’re vastly outnumbered. We can see the damage being done to our community by this insane issue. We see the acceptance we’ve gained over the last 50 years going right down the toilet because of a small group of radical, agenda-driven people who think they know what’s best for OTHER PEOPLE’S children.
Anyone who can’t understand that other people’s children are not their concern, might want to seek help. The rest of us better speak up and denounce this crap before we all get relegated back to the 1950s. There’s a reason why gay people were forbidden to hold certain jobs in the past. Now, a few bad actors seem to be proving there was sound reasoning for that policy.