WATCH: Kentucky lawmakers working to restrict drag shows open to children
Luke Gentile
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Lawmakers in Kentucky are working to restrict the number of drag shows open to children in the Bluegrass State.
Adult-oriented businesses, including drag shows, would receive new regulations under state Senate Bill 115, according to a report.
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If made law, the legislation would see drag performances required to take place at least 1,000 feet away from any location catering to the state’s minors.
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These locations include homes, parks, schools, churches, and walking trails, the report noted.
Many in the Kentucky drag community did not take news of the legislation well.
“I thought the person that told me was joking. I had no idea that this was for real. A drag show is not hurting anyone, we’re not trying to change anyone. What we are doing is trying to be who we are,” Helena Handbasket, drag queen operating in the Lexington area, said.
“I have sat in libraries and read to children and I’m not gonna read playgirl magazine to a room full of kids.”
Another portion of the legislation specifies that “adult cabaret,” bars, nightclubs, and restaurants will be prohibited from showcasing anybody in a nude or semi-nude fashion because doing so harms minors, according to the report.
“They are professionals, and they know their crowd. If there are going to be minors in a restaurant or something, we modify the music and our show and what we wear to fit that crowd,” Handbasket said. “We are professionals, just as you would expect any actor on a stage to wear the right costume, you’re not going to dress like a girl and play Tony in Westside Story … we do the same thing.”
Regulating adult-oriented enterprises and keeping them 1,000 feet away from locations catering to minors will help the state’s health, safety, and general welfare, lawmakers promoting the legislation argue.
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If made law, the legislation would not go into full effect until summer 2025, the report noted.