Bill that would regulate ‘adult oriented’ businesses moves through Kentucky legislature

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) – A Kentucky bill that calls for regulating “adult-oriented” businesses is moving ahead to the state’s general assembly.

Senate Bill 147 no longer lists drag performances as restricted adult entertainment.

However, it still includes definitions of drag as examples of what could be banned, leading critics to not approve of the bill.

Bob Heleringer with the Fairness Campaign told lawmakers that the bill is targeting those who perform drag.

For example, the bill says one thing that could be restricted is a performer using makeup to exaggerate gender expression that’s inconsistent with their biological sex.

He says whether you agree with drag or not, it’s wrong to go after it using the law.

However, the bill’s sponsor emphasized that only sexually explicit content is being targeted.

She says the goal of the bill is to regulate adult-oriented businesses and protect kids from seeing sexually explicit things, so the bill bans it from happening within a city block of places where kids may be present, like schools, churches, and libraries.

She argues that other industries are regulated in Kentucky, so adult-oriented ones should be too.

However, some lawmakers think targeting drag seems cruel.

“It still seems mean,” says Rachel Roberts (D-KY). “It seems like we’re trying to target a specific group of people who are already marginalized, that we’re taking away some of the fun and the color and the brightness of our communities.”

But others say they don’t want kids seeing it.

“How can we be for somebody dressing up like a lady or like a woman and reading books to our kids? What in the world are we thinking?” Chris Fugate (R-KY) says.

The bill is now in the hands of the full house.