TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says we should let children be children. The governor says a recent drag show in Texas was not appropriate for kids.
“You had these very young kids, I think 9 [or] 10 years old, go this ‘drag show’ and put money in the underwear of this — that is totally inappropriate,” DeSantis said. “That is not something that children should be exposed to.”
State Rep. Anthony Sabatini now wants to make it a felony for any parent to bring a child to a drag show.
The Republican from Howey-in-the-Hills said in a tweet, “I will be proposing legislation to charge with a felony and terminate parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows.”
Sabatini did not respond to an email asking for a comment on the proposed bill.
The Paperback Book Exchange in Port Richey has hosted Drag Queen Story Hour for children in the past. The owner says anyone was allowed to attend.
“People that had children that were exhibiting behaviors that would lead the parents to think they were going to be LGBTQ when they grew up, or people who had LGBTQ members in their families,” owner Joan Hepsworth said.
She has a problem with Rep. Sabatini’s proposal.
“What we’re really looking at is they are trying to legislate hatred – is what it feels like to me anyway,” Hepsworth said.
She says she stopped the story hours in her store after 10 months because her supporters and protestors got into fist fights outside of her store.
“We had to stop doing it here because I didn’t want anybody to get hurt, from either side,” Hepsworth said.
She worried it would get even worse at the time.
“I didn’t see where that was going to get any better because of the way the First Amendment is set up. They’re allowed to come out here and harass us and for us to protect ourselves put us in a position where we would end up getting arrested,” she said.
