Mon Jan 30, 2023 – 5:55 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — The Arkansas Senate recently voted to label drag shows under “adult-oriented business,” a classification that protects minors from being exposed to the performances.
SB 43 was passed by the state Senate on January 24 despite opposition from all six Democrat lawmakers voting on the motion. It now continues to the Republican-led House for a final vote.
The purpose of the legislation is “to classify a drag performance as an adult-oriented business” and to establish “additional location restrictions to an adult-oriented business.”
Drag shows are defined in the bill as a performance that “exaggerates sexual aspects of the masculine or feminine body for entertainment purposes,” regardless of whether performers receive compensation. The classification of “adult-oriented business” was expanded from “an adult bookstore, an adult cabaret, an adult live entertainment establishment, an adult motion picture theater, an adult theater, a massage establishment that offers adult services, an escort agency, or a nude model studio” to include drag performances.
The bill also states that “an adult-oriented business shall not be located on public property or where a minor can view what the adult-oriented business is otherwise offering to the
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