Texas bill proposes criminal charges for minor-friendly drag show venues – By Michael Murney (Houston Chronicle) / Nov 16, 2022
House Bill 643 could result in fines and jail time for venue owners hosting transgender performers.
A Texas state lawmaker introduced a bill on Monday that would allow criminal charges to be levied against any venue that hosts transgender performers or drag shows and also allows minors to enter at any time to criminal charges. The proposed law was among a slew of legislative bills targeting LGBTQ Texans filed by conservative Texas lawmakers on Monday ahead of the upcoming House session.
Brought forward by Rep. Jared Patterson of the 106th District outside of Dallas, House Bill 643 seeks to redefine drag performances 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.”
Under Texas’ existing criminal statutes, businesses that host transgender performers and also admit minors in any capacity—even if minors are not attending a performance that features transgender people or drag—can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Drag shows are not exclusively performed by transgender people and often feature cisgender performers portraying characters of differing or ambiguous sexes.
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