Three drag superstars will lobby House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle next week to advocate for greater protections for LGBTQ people and fight a rising tide of hate and threats made against the community.
Drag artists Jiggly Caliente, Brigitte Bandit and Joey Jay will meet with lawmakers at the Capitol on Tuesday as part of a “Drag Lobby Day” organized by MoveOn Political Action, a progressive advocacy group.
“MAGA Republicans have been violently attacking the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community for a long time,” Nakia Stephens, the group’s campaigns director, told The Hill in an emailed statement. do not be silenced.”
Lobbying efforts will focus primarily on the Equality Act, which would extend federal non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ people by making sexual orientation and gender identity protected, and the Transgender Bill of Rights, a landmark resolution that would strengthen protections of civil rights for trans and non-binary Americans. . House Democrats reintroduced both measures last year, though progress on either bill has since stalled.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chairman of the Congressional Equality Caucus, told The Hill in February that this Congress is “purely a public support session” for the Equality Act. Plans to advance this and other pro-LGBTQ legislation in the House will depend on Democrats’ ability to regain control of the lower chamber in November.
All three drag artists will meet Tuesday with House lawmakers, including “lawmakers from vulnerable Republican districts and battlegrounds — especially those with a large population of LGBTQ+ residents,” said Britt Jacovich, MoveOn press secretary. . A rally is scheduled to accompany the meetings.
In recent years, drag has emerged as an unexpected political flashpoint, with Democrats and Republicans divided over whether the performances are appropriate for young viewers. Advocates defended drag as a form of self-expression that challenges social and gender norms and promotes inclusivity. They reject claims that the centuries-old art form is inherently sexual.
Lawmakers in at least two dozen states this year introduced legislation aimed at restricting drag events that take place in public or where they can be seen by minors, although almost all of them failed to become law. Six Republican-led states in 2023 passed legislation cracking down on drag performances, but enforcement in four of them — in Florida, Montana, Texas and Tennessee — is blocked by federal court orders.
A majority of Americans oppose laws restricting drag events, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found, including more than a third of Republicans and nearly 75% of Democrats.
Attempts by Congress to restrict drag performances have been unsuccessful, although an amendment added by House Republicans last week to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would prohibit the use of funds made available by the bill for drag events. The amendment’s sponsor accused the Defense Department, which banned drag shows on military bases last year, and President Biden of “pushing a sexual agenda” on military personnel and young children.
“The demonization of drag performers and the hate spewed by some of my Republican colleagues is incredibly harmful to the performers themselves, as well as any LGBTQIA person who expresses and presents themselves outside of the set of strict gender norms imposed by conservative politicians in Washington. . ,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Pa.), who is expected to attend Tuesday’s rally.
“And here’s the sad truth: Most lawmakers who yell and scream about drag queens on the House floor or in Committee couldn’t care less about drag: They just want a clip on Fox News and they know that anti-LGBTQIA hate is the easiest way to do this,” Crockett told The Hill in an email. “It’s all a performance; but instead of putting on nails and eyelashes, these queens are doing their best Bigot Drag and lip-syncing for their political lives in hopes that Donald Trump will tell them to ‘shantay.’
More than 500 bills targeting LGBTQ rights, including restrictions on drag, have been introduced this year in state legislatures, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. At least 39 have been signed into law, including nine new bans on gender-affirming health care and at least three new laws that prevent transgender students from using facilities that match their gender identity.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
