Texas Lawmaker Announces Bill to Ban Drag Shows in Presence of Minors

The Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2021. Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images

A Republican Texas lawmaker announced on Monday he will introduce legislation to ban drag shows from being performed in the presence of minors in the state, after a recent drag show in a Dallas bar was held open to families and children.

The show over the weekend was titled “Drag the Kids to Pride Drag Show.” The event was advertised as a “family-friendly” flaunt as part of events marking Pride Month. Some protesters gathered outside the event to express how upset they were to have kids attend such a show.

Video clips of the event surfaced on social media, showing drag performers dancing while children watched and tipped them with cash. The clips, some of which went viral, prompted outrage and controversy among some viewers.

“The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children,” said Bryan Slaton, the Republican representative for House District 2, in a statement.

“As a father of two young children, I would never take my children to a drag show and I know [Texas House Speaker] Dade Phelan and the rest of my Republican colleagues wouldn’t either,” he said. “Protecting our own children isn’t enough and our responsibility as lawmakers extends to the sexualization that is happening across Texas.”

The statement from Slaton’s office said that he plans to “file legislation protecting kids from drag shows and other inappropriate displays as soon as the next legislative session begins.”

“I promised my voters that I would stand up for their values and fight to protect Texas Kids,'' Slaton said. ”I was re-elected on that promise, and I intend to keep it by authoring legislation to defend kids from being subjected to drag shows and other inappropriate events. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important legislation.”

The event at the Mr. Misster Dallas bar was referred to as one in which “Texas children were subjected to inappropriate sexual content by adults,” per the statement.

After the event, the Mr. Misster Dallas bar released a statement to WFAA that said that it was “more than happy” to “celebrate Pride in a family friendly, safe environment ... because we believe that everyone should have a space to be able to celebrate who they are.”

The statement said that instead of its usual “Champagne Drag Brunch” show every Saturday, event organizers teamed up with other community partners to host a special “Pride Drag Brunch” for all guests, including children, to raise money for a local LGBTQ+ youth organization. The event was alcohol-free.

The event is one of multiple related to Pride Month in Texas that are open to children attending. The first pride festival was held in Round Rock on Saturday. A pride festival is set to take place on June 18 in Pflugerville, and a “pride rodeo” has been scheduled for June 25 at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park.