Texas Republicans Seek To Criminalise Venues With Drag and Trans Performers

The Texas House of Representatives has brought forth an anti-drag bill that seeks to not only put new restrictions on public drag performances but also criminalise venues that host drag shows or trans performers.

The bill in question, House Bill 643 defines drag shows as “a performance in which a performer exhibits a gender identity that is different than the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers and sings, lip syncs, dances or otherwise performs before an audience for entertainment.”

The bill also states that venues that hold a drag performance essentially render it as a “sexually oriented business.”

Under current Texas law, businesses that host drag shows and allow minors in – even if the show doesn’t have a drag or trans performer – can be charged with a Class A misdemeanour.

What Texas defines as a minor is anyone under 18 that is not and hasn’t been married. If a venue is found guilty, the maximum fine is $4,000 and one year in jail.

The bill was introduced to the Texas House of Representatives on 14^th November and was spearheaded by Representative Jared Patterson. The same Patterson who joined other lawmakers to push the anti-LGBTQ book-banning agenda to Texas Republicans’.

Opposition To Bill

Those opposed to the bill include is Harvard Law clinician Alejandra Caraballo who has stated that the bill “one of the most radical bills I have ever seen that seeks to completely eliminate trans people out of public life by defining drag to encompass trans people and then criminalising it.”

Texas introduced a bill that would criminally charge venues that have drag shows with a Class A misdemeanor if they permit minors to enter at any time. The bill defines drag as essentially any trans person performing at all. https://t.co/jWIwuM7149 pic.twitter.com/amg2tHLF74

— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) November 15, 2022

Taking to Twitter, Caraballo noted that any venue “that hosts “drag” events would be considered a “sexually oriented business” and must never allow a minor to enter at all, not just during the event. Not only that, it imposes a $5 fee per person on any business that hosts a drag event.”

“If a coffee shop hosts a drag event, it would then be classified as “sexually oriented business” and could not allow minors to enter it again and the state would impose a $5 fee on all customers. This in effect bans all drag by making it impossible to host anywhere.”

Caraballo’s tweets garnered attention, with many users agreeing that the “legislation is pure evil” as one user commented.