By Matt Lavietes -
NBC News
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill Thursday that will penalize
drag
shows in that state.
This is the
first law of its kind that prohibits “adult cabaret shows”
in public places or where they could be seen by minors.
This type of entertainment, according to the measure, includes " topless
dancers
,
go-go
dancers , exotic dancers,
strippers
, male or female impersonators, or similar performers."
The law, which will enter into force on April 1, provides that first-time offenders will be punished as a misdemeanor.
Repeat offenders will be charged with felonies and
may be sentenced to up to six years in prison.
[A Republican opposed the law to shield marriage equality. Her gay nephew's response goes viral]
Lawmakers in 12 other states have proposed similar measures to restrict
drag queen
performances
, revealed an analysis by NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
Defenders of the regulation argue that it is necessary to protect children from inappropriate spectacles.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson is a major Republican sponsor of this bill.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment but celebrated the signing of the law on his Twitter account.
“The bill gives parents the confidence to bring their children to a public or private performance and not be blindsided by a sexualized performance,” he wrote.
Drag performances during Nashville Pride 2022 on June 25, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.Mickey Bernal/Getty Images
Several drag
performers
in the state argue that the legislation portrays them as overtly sexual and unfairly attacks underground art, which has deep roots in the LGBTQ community.
"(
Drag
) has never turned a child into a prostitute or anything negative, it just gave them an opportunity to express happiness," said Denise Sadler, 38, who has performed as a
drag queen
for more than 20 years in Nashville. .
“If happiness is against the law, what kind of world do we live in?” she said.
[DeSantis strikes down Florida's Disney Autonomous District in punishment for opposing 'Don't Say Gay' law]
The state already has laws against obscenity.
"Passing more laws regulating this 'raunchy' art form of
drag
does nothing more than incite people who already hate us and make it harder for us to simply exist in the world," said Luke Conner,
drag queen
from Memphis whose stage name is Anyanka.
“It's not about protecting children anymore, it's about silencing a whole group of people
,” he added.
LGBTQ advocates are also concerned that police will enforce the law against transgender people who walk in public, falsely portraying them as “male or female impersonators”.
“They are giving the police every right to attack me and come at me when I am doing nothing but living my life,” said Sadler, who is transgender.
“To be the land of the free, I shouldn't have to walk in fear because I'm black or because I'm trans,” he concluded.
Republicans Submit Bill to Congress Similar to Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Oct 20, 202200:43
Regina Lambert Hillman, a law professor at the University of Memphis who was part of a legal team that challenged Tennessee's 2013 ban on same-sex marriages, described the bill as "intentionally vague" and said she understands the concern of the trans community.
The law, however, cannot prevent transgender people from dressing in public with their chosen gender.
“They still have First Amendment protections,” he said, “that means the way someone dresses or what they say, that doesn't change.
The Government cannot suppress expression, including expressive conduct, simply because it finds it offensive or does not like its content.
[Texas Republican lawmakers seek to “remove trans people from public life” with two bills]
Hillman explained that the purpose of the law is to "put people on notice."
“It's more like a law looking for a problem than a problem looking for a law,” he said.
Tensions over the rule escalated over the weekend after an image was shared on the web platforms Reddit and Twitter that appears to show Governor Lee dressed as a woman, wearing a short-skirted cheerleader uniform, a pearl necklace and a wig.
Lee would not confirm or deny Monday whether he was the person in the image.
“This is a ridiculous question,” he said in a conversation that was recorded and shared on Twitter by The Tennessee Holler, a local news site.
"To compare something like that to sexualized entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious issue," he said.
After the photo surfaced, Lee was greeted by protesters in Memphis on Tuesday.
Two people were arrested.
Colorado Springs community supports man who helped subdue gunman at Club Q
Nov 26, 202200:18
Marina Pepe, 32, who hosts a weekly
drag brunch
with Sadler in Nashville, said she is concerned the new legislation will spark more riots and fuel acts of violence against
drag
performers .
"When that window opens, especially from a stronger voice, someone thinks 'OK, the Government or the politicians said that it is right to act against this that is wrong'", lamented Pepe, "people act accordingly" .
["I Don't Know How I'm Here": Colorado Gay Club Shooting Victims Detail What They Did To Get Out Alive]
Last year there were more than 140 significant protests and threats directed against
drag
events in 47 states, according to a report by the LGBTQ rights advocacy group GLAAD.
In one extreme case,
a donut shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was bombed with a Molotov cocktail
in October after hosting a
drag
event , according to KFOR and KJRH, NBC News affiliates in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
In recent months,
anti-drag
protesters have even reached liberal enclaves like New York.
Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee.Mark Zaleski / AP file
NBC News reported that those incidents, along with the November mass shooting at a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub, prompted high-profile
drag
performers to beef up their security teams.
Several have revealed that they hired armed guards to escort them during their tours.
Pepe said he is also considering hiring full-time security for weekly performances of his show at a Nashville bar.
Aside from legislation that would limit
drag
, state legislators across the country
have introduced more than 300 bills against LGBTQ rights
, according to a count by the American Civil Liberties Union.
[This is the owner of the Colorado Springs gay club where a mass shooting left 5 dead]
Many of these bills seek to ban transition care for transgender minors, including one that Lee also signed into law Thursday.
Tennessee is now one of seven states — plus Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, South Dakota, Utah and Mississippi — where governments have enacted these types of measures.
The laws were temporarily blocked by judges in Arkansas and Alabama pending resolution of the lawsuits.