Gun shows, not drag shows, are the real threats to Florida's children
Florida lawmakers need to reconsider banning children from drag shows, and instead, adopt a real public safety measure: Banning kids from gun shows.
In Florida, it's legal to take a child to a gun show. In fact, it's encouraged, as many gun shows advertise free admission to children who are 12 and younger.
Meanwhile two years ago, Florida lawmakers passed the 'Protection of Children Act', which essentially bans children from witnessing live performances that include a person in drag.
For this to make sense, singing drag queens would have to be more deadly than loaded handguns.
The chain restaurant, Hamburger Mary's, which advertises 'flamboyant dining experiences' featuring family-friendly 'Dining with the Divas' drag shows, has been a target of the new Protection of Children Act.
The Act has been blocked so far on Constitutional grounds, and a federal appeals court this month affirmed those concerns.
'By providing only vague guidance as to which performances it prohibits, the Act wields a shotgun when the First Amendment allows a scalpel at most,' the appeals court ruling read. 'And Florida's history of arbitrarily enforcing other, similar laws against performances that are far from obscene only deepens our concerns.'
Gov. Ron DeSantis' office has said it will appeal the ruling in order to save the state's children from this alleged scourge.
But if child protection is the real aim here, it's worth pointing out that no Florida child has ever been killed by watching a drag show.
Opinion: DeSantis can use FSU shooting tragedy to boost gun safety laws
The same can't be said about children and their lethal fascination with firearms. So, allowing children into gun shows that feed their interest in these deadly adult toys, has contributed to scores of deadly consequences.
Especially in Florida. Our state has the dubious distinction of being among the top states in both gun ownership and unintentional shootings by children.
Our View: After FSU shooting, will we repeat our cycle of anguish, anger and inaction?
Data compiled by Brady United, the bipartisan national group against gun violence, shows that 85% of fatal unintentional shootings among children occur in a home.
'Previous research indicates that recent household firearm acquisition is associated with an increased risk of unintentional firearm injury and death among young children younger than 12 years of age,' Brady United reported.
So, it stands to reason that taking that young child to a gun show to watch his or her parent fondle, express admiration for, and then buy a lethal weapon will only make that child more curious to handle that weapon in the home if it's not properly stored.
So, please, spare me that handwringing over exposing kids to drag queen song-and-dance routines, while you welcome them without concern into showrooms of death.
Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, which is part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at fcerabino@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida bans kids from drag shows, gives free pass gun shows | Opinion
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