Dem Lawmaker Proposes Banning Kids From Attending Bible Camp
Laurel Duggan on January 31, 2023
Democratic Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt proposed banning children from attending religious camps in an amendment to a bill banning minors from drag shows Jan. 23.
Hunt proposed the amendment to “make a point” and will withdraw it if it garners enough votes to pass, she wrote Saturday. All–age drag shows, sometimes featuring child performers, have become increasingly popular in recent years, and Democrats and LGBT activists have fought against efforts to restrict child attendance, portraying these efforts as anti-LGBT.
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
“There is a well-documented history of indoctrination and sexual abuse perpetrated by religious leaders and clergy people upon children,” her amendment read. “For purposes of this section, religious indoctrination camp means 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. No individual under nineteen years of age shall be present at a religious indoctrination camp.”
Legislative Bill 371, which the amendment was proposed to, would ban anyone under 19 from attending drag shows and would make bringing a minor to a drag show a criminal misdemeanor. It would also ban anyone under 21 from attending drag shows where alcohol is served.
The legislation defines a performance as a drag show if “The main aspect of the performance is a performer which exhibits a gender identity that is different than the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers; and The performer sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience for entertainment.”
“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 wrote. “I have introduced similar amendments in the past – e.g. in a session where we had a bill to require DNA collection of everyone accused of a crime, I amended DNA collection requirements on all kinds of other bills as devices to make a point. They aren’t meant to pass.”
Hunt also wrote that she was “just trying to bring some levity to [her] work.”
Hunt did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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