TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Two bills, SB1028 and SB1030, have been introduced during this legislative session that limit the freedom of drag performances to prevent sexually explicit performances from occurring in front of minors. Local drag queen Janae D’Vas shared her perspective of the bill early February as word first started getting out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt uncomfortable at a show, and thought, ‘Oh my god that was too vulgar.’ There’s times and places for certain things,” she said at the time.
Since then, the proposed bills have passed through several chambers. The drag queen community has also been threatened for their performances and story times, causing events like last week’s Drag Queen Story Hour to be postponed.
So drag queen Janae D’Vas, also known as Armando Alvarez, decided to hold a photoshoot to take a stand against the difficult time his community, as well as the transgender community, is currently going through.
“We have the ability to express and give people that security to know, ‘hey you’re not alone and you’re not alone in this community, look at all of us.” And now we’re here to be that example,” said Alvarez.
At least 15 other drag queens joined him for the photoshoot, each eager to stand with their “sisters,” as they referred to each other. But one drag queen, Lucinda Holliday who is known as Larry Moore, said the bill has nothing to do with protecting minors.
“They’re really targeting the trans community, but they’re making it a collective with all the entertainers as well. So they’re targeting the drag queens and drag queens, and any other entertainer that dresses outside of the gender specified at birth and making that illegal, which is really going after the trans community,” said Moore.
Moore said he believes politicians in support of the bills should be focusing on other issues.
“They’re just deflecting from what’s really real and that is to save our children from being shot in schools.”
On Wednesday, the lawmaker who introduced the bills Anthony Kern defended his bill in front of the House Government Committee.
“We don’t want a drag performance in a school library that is sexually explicit, or arousing the prurient interest. So if their reading does that, then we want to move that over to a sexually explicit type performance,” said Kern.
The house member has not responded to our request for an interview.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
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