I’m Not A Lawyer But…

Even I can tell that this is against the First Amendment and possible the Fourteenth Amendment.

Ohio Republicans Seek to Criminalize Drag Performers

A bill introduced in the state would restrict where such entertainers could perform and for what audiences, and violation could bring either misdemeanor or felony charges.

The Advocate

By Trudy Ring

July 18, 2023

Ohio Republican lawmakers are trying to criminalize drag performers.

House Bill 245, which was introduced Monday in the Ohio House of Representatives, would define drag shows as “adult cabaret performances.” It doesn’t use the word “drag,” but it says such “adult” shows are those that feature “performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer’s or entertainer’s gender assigned at birth.” This puts drag performers in the same category as strippers or topless dancers.

These performers would be violating the law if they appear in any venue “other than an adult cabaret and in the presence of a juvenile under age 18,” The Plain Dealerof Cleveland reports. A general violation would bring a first-degree misdemeanor charge, and if the performance is deemed obscene, the charge would be a fifth-degree felony. If the event is attended by anyone under 13, the charge would be upped to a fourth-degree felony.

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If the bill becomes law, it would eliminate drag queen story hours and appearances by drag artists in parks, parades, and other spaces accessible to children. “It would effectively restrict drag events indoors to bars and other spaces where minors are prohibited,” The Columbus Dispatch notes.

Williams, who is a criminal defense attorney when not doing his legislative duties, said he thinks HB 245 will stand up to court scrutiny. “We have looked at bills introduced in other states, and we looked at court rulings in relationship to those bills in other states and made sure we narrowly tailored the language,” he told The Plain Dealer. “We don’t want to be overly broad in the type of entertainment this would apply to. We want to make sure it’s narrowly tailored toward the end goal.”

All but one court have struck down the laws, the exception was a Trump’s judge and a George W Bush judge on the Court of Appeals, but it is a crap shoot at the Supreme Court.