Democratic Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt is proposing a bill that would bar young children from attending church events in retaliation to a Republican-backed bill banning kids from drag shows.
According to Blaze, Hunt’s amendment calls for blocking youth from “religious indoctrination camp,” which the proposal defines as “a camp, vacation Bible study, retreat, lock-in, or convention held by a church, youth group, or religious organization for the purpose of indoctrinating children with a specific set of religious beliefs.”
“The Legislature finds that there is a well-documented history of indoctrination and sexual abuse perpetrated by religious leaders and clergy people upon children. Abusers within churches and other religious institutions often use events like church or youth-group-sponsored camps and retreats to earn children’s trust and gain unsupervised access to such children in order to commit such abuse,” a portion of Hunt’s amendment reads.
Hunt later clarified that she was only attempting to “make a point” about the Republican bill to protect children. She then fancifully asserted that if the legislation had any chance of passing, she would rescind it.
This is an amendment that I will use to make a point about the underlying bill, LB371, which bans all-ages drag shows. It won’t pass, I would withdraw it if it had the votes to pass. It’s a device to make a point. We need not clench nor worry. https://t.co/aUgwBtN1QG
— Senator Megan Hunt (@NebraskaMegan) January 28, 2023
“This is an amendment that I will use to make a point about the underlying bill, LB371, which bans all-ages drag shows. It won’t pass, I would withdraw it if it had the votes to pass. It’s a device to make a point. We need not clench nor worry,” she tweeted.
This comes after GOP lawmakers introduced new laws to crack down on drag shows in an effort to repress LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
Legislators in at least eight states have reportedly introduced legislation aiming to restrict or censor the shows. A total of 14 bills have been introduced across Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
The introduction of anti-drag legislation follows an uptick in political discourse over drag performances and drag queen story times in public libraries, as well as an increasing number of recent demonstrations or disruptions of drag events.
The majority of the proposed legislation defines a drag performer as someone who engages in performance while dressing, applying makeup, and acting in ways that are not consistent with the gender given to them at birth.
