WATCH: Missouri mayor bans children from drag queen Christmas show
Heather Hamilton
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Missouri minors were not allowed to attend a drag queen show Wednesday when a concert venue barred their entry based on a local ordinance.
The Factory in Chesterfield, which is located in a suburb of St. Louis, said no ticket holders under the age of 18 would be allowed to attend its “A Drag Queen Christmas.”
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“We specifically in the City of Chesterfield have ordinances,” Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation told KMOV, noting that one ordinance includes “protecting minors and not allow[ing] minors to be exposed to certain types of entertainment of a sexual orientation, etc.”
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Nation sent police to the show’s venue to help maintain peace as protesters against the production gathered.
“There should be no obscene material or performance period, and it’s beyond me that anyone can book a performance like this,” protester Dawn DeBlaze told KTVI.
“A Drag Queen Christmas” is currently touring 17 states and Washington, D.C., with performers seen on RuPaul’s Drag Race reality TV show. The show has been advertised as “being family-friendly.”
“It’s really disappointing that the mayor feels that drag is not family-friendly,” said Shira Berkowitz with LGBT activist group PROMO Missouri. “Don’t go if it bothers you, and find another way to celebrate Christmas.”
“[To] have an ordinance that misinterprets pornographic materials or explicit materials with the same sentence as a drag performance is a real missed opportunity for Chesterfield,” Berkowitz added.
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Nation said that the show would be refunding underage ticket holders who could not attend.
Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, and Texas are also reportedly considering legislative options, similar to Chesterfield’s ordinance, that would ban drag shows for minors.