Arkansas Drag Ban Gutted! All Instances Of "Drag" Removed In Big Victory, Activists Vow To Keep Fighting

Arkansas drag ban that targets drag as well as well as transgender people was gutted by the Arkansas House City, County, and Local Affairs Committee. Activists called it a win.

Activists scored a major victory in Arkansas on Friday. Arkansas SB34 is a bill that would have banned “anyone exhibiting a gender identity different from their assigned gender at birth” from performing in any way that any person could deem “prurient.” It is one of 20 bills moving in 13 states that target the transgender and drag community. Arkansas was the first state that heard such a bill in its Senate. After the bill passed the Senate and went to the Arkansas House, there was increasing concern that the state could be the first to ban drag in public or for those under 18. On the Senate floor, one senator, Senator Tucker, pointed out that the bill would probably even ban Pride. Activists showed up in droves to testify. On Friday, the House published a new, amended form of the bill that stripped out all language targeting drag and instead made it a public nudity bill, something that Arkansas code already covers.

Previously, the bill would have targeted all drag artists and transgender people. The bill’s sponsor argued that the original bill would only target people “dressed as the opposite sex” for “prurient” behavior. Prurient behavior is “having an excessive interest in sexual matters or causing within others sexual interest.” However, in the original bill sponsor’s testimony, it was clear that he considered the mere act of dressing not according to your assigned gender at birth to be prurient. Senator Gary Stubblefield, who created the bill, stated that drag queens reading to kids, for instance, was part of the original purpose of this bill. If a drag queen sitting down and reading would be considered prurient to him, it is undoubtable that some local sheriffs in Arkansas would, applying community standards according to how the word prurient is defined, find transgender people to be likewise acting “pruriently.”

Activists came out in droves against the bill. Drag queens testified at the committee hearing, with one saying “I have the most clothes on of anyone in here,” pointing out that there was nothing sexually charged about them. A large crowd gathered in front of the congressional building steps and sang Seasons Of Love. Despite their protests, it flied through the Senate with a vote of 29-6. One Senator, Senator Clark Tucker, gave an impassioned speech about how if they wanted to ban kids around sexually charged spaces, they should be going after the nearby Twin Peaks and Hooters. See THV11’s report, including the singing:

The bill then moved into the House, where it faced somewhat stiffer resistance. The Arkansas Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs quickly quickly realized the legal concerns with the bill. The bill’s cosponsor in the house, Representative Bentley, stated that she didn’t think the original bill would hold up in court after speaking with Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. At the last moment, they amended the bill to remove all instances of drag. Arkansas Law Professor Matt Bender said of the new legislation, “It would be a piece of legislation without any effect,” referring to the fact that similar laws already exist in the Arkansas Code.

The new bill can be seen here:

The response to the updated legislation from LGBTQ+ and civil rights organizations on the ground ranged from guarded to positive. The ACLU of Arkansas stated that the bill no longer explicitly targeted the LGBTQ+ community but still applied to all Arkansans in overly broad ways. Local LGBTQ+ organization, InTRANsitive, was more celebratory - remarking that the bill was gutted, that activists sent their message, and expressed pride in helping secure this result. Importantly, Arkansas may have delivered to activists in other states a way to defeat anti-drag and trans bans when they seem destined to be passed into law.

While some may see this as a victory, it is important to note that there is still more fight to go on the bill. As the ACLU mentioned, the language is still overly broad and targets all Arkansans. In particular, people have pointed out the section on “partial nudity,” and how this is not something that is well defined. Would a low-cut shirt be partially nude, for instance? What about cleavage? The bill also targets prosthetic breast nudity or partial nudity, which would make some wonder if merely seeing the edge of the prosthetics would be partial exposure.

Arkansas is still engaging in other anti-trans activities. One bill for instance would ban bathroom access to trans youth in the state. This comes, I am told, after members of some local school boards sought out the legislature to pass such a bill to give them cover for not being able to pass it themselves at the local level. It also has a gender affirming care ban for trans youth that is currently being held up in court. The legislature has shown a willingness to push anti-trans legislation, and activists there will need to be vigilant.

However, it is important to celebrate the victories when they occur. Organizations on the ground have painted a cautious, but positive, picture in the way that activists were able to gut the very first anti-trans drag bill to pass a state house in the country. Though they will continue fighting against SB43, the bill itself will no longer directly target the LGBTQ+ community. Everyone involved in fighting against the bill should feel proud of the work they did and the results they were able to achieve.