Ohio lawmakers push for stricter rules on ‘obscene' drag queens, indecent exposure

Yahoo

2 days ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Lawmakers argue Ohio must restrict 'adult cabaret performances' and update indecent exposure laws, citing recent 'obscene' drag queen shows and the case of a transgender woman found not guilty on charges related to using a women's locker room.
The Ohio House Judiciary Committee had the first hearing on Wednesday for House Bill 249, legislation to prohibit nudity and sexual conduct in public. The bill would also limit 'adult cabaret performances,' defined as a show 'harmful to juveniles' that features topless or go-go dancers, strippers, and 'entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers' or entertainers' biological sex.'
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H.B. 249 would ban these shows in all locations other than 'adult cabarets,' meaning 'a nightclub, bar, juice bar, restaurant, bottle club or similar establishment.' Coined the 'Indecent Exposure Modernization Act,' the bill is being proposed by Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) and Angela King (R-Celina), with the support of 42 out of 65 Ohio House Republican representatives. Watch a previous NBC4 report on H.B. 249 in the video player above.
'The catalyst for this bill came from my own community. I was appalled to watch a video of a 'family friendly' event held in our city park where adults where dancing for children,' King said during the hearing, describing a drag queen show in Celina. 'One of the performers, dressed in a skimpy thonged leotard, twerked and gyrated on the concrete.'
King emphasized the bill doesn't include 'sexual orientation discrimination' and promised 'the trans community will be able to dress and express their gender as they go to a grocery store, the post office and live their daily lives.' Content like plays written by Shakespeare and performances like 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'Tootsie' will not be impacted, she said.
Still, the proposal has been condemned by LGBTQ+ organizations, like the ACLU of Ohio, which argued it 'broadly targets anyone who performs exhibiting a gender identity different than the entertainer's biological sex at birth' and 'relies on notoriously vague legal standards used to determine whether content is considered obscene.'
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'This bill represents an unacceptable attack on our First Amendment rights to freely express ourselves,' the group said in a statement. 'Drag is protected speech, just like any other art form. It is not a crime. Support drag queens and kings, and the entire LGBTQ+ community, by speaking out against this bill.'
H.B. 249 is identical to previous legislation introduced by Williams and King also banning 'adult cabaret performances.' Williams has long argued the bill's intention is to modernize revised code regarding obscenity and indecent exposure to minors, not to ban drag.
The representative cited the case of Rachel Glines, a trans women who was charged with public indecency for changing in a women's locker room at a Xenia YMCA. Glines was found not guilty by a Xenia judge because her genitals were not directly visible. Williams said Glines would've been convicted under H.B. 249, which changes Ohio law from prosecuting exposure of 'private parts' to 'private area,' meaning 'the genitals … where nude or covered by an undergarment'.
'Though these terms do not seem to differ much in common parlance, amending the section to say 'private area' has a large impact on the viability of the enforcement of the law,' Williams said. 'Had the section said 'private area,' our justice system would have been able to fully prosecute Glines.'
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Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) argued during the hearing that there are already thorough laws on the books for obscenity and indecent exposure and emphasized that the Celina incident King described is already against Ohio law.
'My concern here is that this bill is not only redundant, but it's redundant in a way that's actively targeting a group of people that don't need more things targeted at them,' Isaacsohn said. 'It's just not right to say all over the state of Ohio, you're walking down the street, you look to the left, look to the right and you're subject to people taking off their clothes and showing their private areas.'
Like Williams and King's previous proposal, H.B. 249 outlines the following penalties if Ohioans are found violating the legislation:
A misdemeanor of the first degree if a performance occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 18.
A felony of the fifth degree if the performance is 'obscene.'
A felony of the fourth degree if the performance is 'obscene' and occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 13.
The bill's language is modeled after a Tennessee law that also bans 'adult cabaret performances.' The contested measure was ruled 'unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad' by a district judge in 2023, but then reinstated by an appeals court last year. In February, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the law.
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A conservative Lancaster group advocated for its city council to adopt a measure with the same language last year after they argued a performance during a LGBTQ+ Pride event with a drag queen was 'pornographic.' Small business owners in Lancaster said they experienced an influx of customers after their shops were included in a social media post tying them to the debated event.
Bellefontaine, a rural Ohio city, was originally supposed to be the first in the state to vote on whether to ban such performances in public. However, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the proposed ordinance, which also used the 'adult cabaret performance' wording, would not appear on the ballot given it was submitted fraudulently.
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