Alabama bill would put limits on drag shows

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has joined states trying to limit drag shows after legislation was filed Thursday that would prohibit the performances in public places where children are present.

The bill by Republican Rep. Arnold Mooney would add a provision to the state’s anti-obscenity laws to prohibit “male or female impersonators, commonly known as drag queens or drag kings” from performing in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and in other public places where minors are present.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows, siding with a group that filed a lawsuit claiming the statute violates the First Amendment.

Republican legislators in several states have been considering restrictions on drag show performances in what critics say is a wave of anti-LBGTQ legislation.

The Alabama bill is pending before the House State Government Committee.