The Covington Human Rights Commission is petitioning local leaders to oppose a recently passed Kentucky senate bill restricting drag shows.
The commission convened in a virtual meeting Thursday night to discuss the controversial Senate bill 115. After some discussion, the group unanimously resolved to both study the bill in depth and then petition both the Covington City Commission and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights to oppose both SB 115 and any future attempts by the state government to regulate drag shows.
Their petition will appear in the form of a letter. The commission plans to unpack the bill line by line in its next meeting to ensure that all members understand the bill’s contents and to plan how to argue their case. Although the commission has no official legislative power, it can make recommendations and petitions to law-making bodies.
“I think it’s a travesty that the government’s getting involved in all of this,” said Commission member Teri Meyer. “I mean, it’s insane. Before long, we’re not gonna be able to do anything.”
SB 115 cleared the Senate Committee today. The bill is a revision of an earlier version of itself, which aimed to ban drag shows. The new version doesn’t ban drag shows outright, but prevents businesses from holding drag performances within 1,000 feet of schools, residences, rec centers, places of worship and a variety of other establishments.
The bill would empower the state’s attorney general as well as county attorneys and individual citizens to bring suit against a business that operates in violation of the law. It would also apply the same treatment to other enterprises it views as harmful to children, including adult cabarets, escort services, adult movie theaters and shops selling sexually explicit materials.
Commission members exchanged thoughts on how they should build their case: whether the best way to frame the issue was one of zoning, the contents of the bill itself or the appropriate separation of local and state power.
“The question on government intervention is should they prohibit it in certain areas or not?” mused Commission Member Michael Steinman. “And one argument would be no, it should be able to go on anywhere. The other argument, I guess, would primarily be [if] cities, state government have discretion to zone to limit where activities can take place.”
In the end, they determined that the argument for local control of drag performances, rather than state control, was the best way to make their case.
No formal missives or petitions were created at the meeting.
Covington first passed a human rights ordinance in 2003, which not only established a human rights commission but also made it illegal for someone to be denied employment or housing due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Members on the human rights commission are appointed by the mayor, but anyone living in Covington can submit a request to sit on the commission. There are currently two vacancies on the commission.
The HRC aren’t the only ones critical of SB 115.
“I can’t begin to describe how wrong-headed and ill-advised this legislation is, and how much of an overreach it is,” Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said in a Feb. 15 press release. “The courts have consistently restricted government’s authority to regulate expression such as this.”
The text of the bill claims that proliferation of adult entertainment businesses, including drag shows, often accompanies “a wide variety of adverse secondary effects, including crimes against persons and property, human trafficking, prostitution, potential spread of disease, lewdness, public indecency, vulgarity, weakening of public morality, obscenity, illicit drug use and drug trafficking, negative impacts on surrounding properties and their value, urban blight, litter, and sexual assault, trafficking, and exploitation.”
The 1,000-foot restrictions on the bill would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for someone to legally operate any fixed establishment where drag shows regularly occur in populated areas. It would also arguably prevent the operations of gay pride events and other public events associated with drag performances.
“What is the harm that is being done to anyone?” asked Commission Member John Fisher. “It says that they are protecting children. I don’t know where any children have been harmed by any of this.”
Commission member Brandon Mims said the bill goes too far.
“I mean, it should be left up to the local government to make those decisions and the community,” Mims said. “If there’s a situation where a drag show has gone too far, let the local municipalities deal with that.”
Commission member Pamela Mullins agreed.
“When you talk about the community, the community has established standards.” said Mullins said. “If it doesn’t violate what the community standards are, then there should not be any issue.”
The commission opened the floor to public comments after the meeting.
Devin Perry, a Covington resident and member of the LGBTQ+ community, spoke up.
“I’m very interested to see what you all think once you are able to look at Senate Bill 115 further,” she said. “I’ve been following all of these bills that have been coming out in various states… I think it’s part of a political and coordinated attack that is intended to chip away at the LGBT community’s rights.
“You will probably be talking about bills of a similar nature, frequently in the future.”
Commission members then invited Perry to submit her name for consideration as a commission member.
The next meeting of the Covington Human Rights Commission will take place on April 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.
To learn more about the commission or to apply for consideration as a commission member, visit the HRC’s webpage.