Republicans join Democrats to Defeat Anti-Drag, Anti-Trans Bills

metroweekly.com:

House Bill 675, sponsored by Rep. Caleb Hinkle (R-Belgrade), which sought to ban drag performances and Pride parades in Montana.Hinkle previously sponsored a ban on public performances of a “sexual nature” that was specifically intended to target drag shows and Drag Queen Story Hour-type events (even if they do not contain sexually explicit content).The ban was was struck down by a federal judge as unconstitutional in 2023 on the grounds that it was likely to be enforced against not only drag performers, but “any person who falls outside traditional gender and identity norms.”In his most recent version of the bill, Hinkle included a provision to allow private individuals to sue drag performers for $5,000, plus damages and attorney’s fees, if children are exposed to or attend a drag show — rather than relying on the government to enforce the law against performers.Hinkle’s bill described drag performers as adopting a “hypersexualized” persona, often incorporating “sensual dancing, provocative costuming, striptease, and adult humor” in their acts.Zephyr pushed back against that characterization, as well as past comments from Hinkle describing transgender identity as a “fetish based on crossdressing.”“At its very core, drag is art,” Zephyr said. “It is very beautiful art.

It has a deep history in this country, and it is important to my community.“If you are a woman in this body wearing a suit today, you are in some way challenging gender norms that existed long ago,” Zephyr continued. “There were three-article-of-clothing laws 50 years ago that said if you wore three articles of clothing that were indicative of the opposite gender, they could stop you, arrest you….