Drag show, ‘sexual exhibition’ bill heads to House floor

IDAHO LEGISLATURE

BOISE — A bill meant to restrict minors’ access to drag shows and “sexual exhibitions” advanced to the House floor Wednesday.

The Christian-focused lobby group the Idaho Family Policy Center drafted House Bill 230, which allows parents or guardians of minors to file lawsuits for at least $5,000 if they feel their children were exposed to “sexual conduct.” The Idaho attorney general or county prosecutor could also file for injunctive relief to stop the action if they have “reason to believe” that the bill will be violated.

Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, is the legislative sponsor.

Edward Clark, a policy assistant at the center, said the standards in the bill were based on the Federal Communications Commission’s standards for what can be broadcast on daytime television.

Sexual conduct is defined in the bill as acts or depictions of “masturbation, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person’s unclothed genitals or pubic area” and “sexually provocative dances or gestures performed with accessories that exaggerate male or female primary or secondary sexual characteristics.”

Organizers of events must restrict minors’ access if it includes this conduct and it is “patently offensive to an average person applying contemporary community standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors.”

The FCC prohibits “indecent” material during daytime hours, which is defined as “material that, in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.”

There are no restrictions in FCC guidelines that mention “accessories that exaggerate male or female primary or secondary sexual characteristics.”

Clark told the Idaho Press that the policy center applies the FCC’s standard for determining if something is offensive by determining if it includes sexual conduct and if it is “patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards” but that it added to the bill more specific definitions to what would be considered sexual conduct.

The policy center has said the aim is to ban public drag shows as well as burlesque and pole dancing performances. There is an exemption in the bill for high school and college dance and cheer teams as part of official school events.

There are also affirmative defenses from litigation for minors 14 and older who attended with a parent or received written consent, if there’s a legally enforceable contract in which the performers agreed not to violate the bill’s requirements, or it was reasonable to believe the minor was 18 or older.

Eight people testified at the hearing Wednesday, with five of them opposed and three in support.

Jessica Strebe said she has performed as a drag king at multiple family-friendly events including wearing a “male silicone chest” while performing as He-Man. Strebe referred to a 2023 bill that had a similar aim, which she also opposed.

“The reality is, this bill hasn’t changed much since last time,” she said. “You are still going after our accessories that exaggerate primary and secondary sex characteristics, and like I mentioned last time, that does include things like bras or even male ballet pants, which would profoundly affect the arts in Idaho and cause many artists to not be able to perform in public here. But ultimately, I don’t believe you understand how drag works.”

Boise resident Mary Ellen Nourse spoke in support of the bill because of an experience she had outside of a Boise Pride event a little over two years ago. She said that she and her husband joined a men’s prayer group in a prayer circle just outside the event at the park. She said the gathering drew a group of attendees who were offended by the prayer group, but most of them left after a time.

Bill to use firing squad as state’s primary execution method advances

BOISE — A bill establishing firing squads as Idaho’s primary method of execution has advanced to the Senate floor.

On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee members voted 6-3 to advance HB 37, a bill which would replace lethal injection with death by firing squad as Idaho’s primary execution method for death row inmates. Currently, the firing squad is Idaho’s secondary method.

Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, presented the bill, which he said would use a more effective method than lethal injection.

“I think it’s a pretty sure method,” Ricks said. “It’ll be much more sure than lethal injections.”

Supporters of the bill focused their arguments on efficiency. LaMont Anderson, a deputy attorney general in the Idaho Attorney General’s Office capital litigation unit, argued there would be less litigation surrounding executions. He cited the existing death row case of Thomas Creech, who had a scheduled execution but it was called off after multiple attempts at lethal injection failed.

“Their caseloads are simply too large, their decisions take too much time,” Anderson said. “As I said in the case of Creech, an Arizona judge is now hearing his three methods of execution cases.”

Several committee members voiced objections to the bill, with much of their debate centered on the reality of how potential executions would be done. Public testimonies primarily revolved around the ethics of the death penalty in general.

Senate Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, an attorney, discussed the lack of data on firing squads as an inmate execution method, and the potential for litigation the bill could bring.

“I don’t have the confidence that Mr. Anderson does that this method will result in less litigation,” Ruchti said. “We don’t have a lot of data to show that you won’t have botched executions. There have only been three of these firing squad executions since 1976.”

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, expressed her concerns about the lack of information on how executions would be conducted.

“I don’t have a clear understanding of what would take place,” Wintrow said. “Are there rifles used, are there not? What does happen? Who can see it? I know we’ve allocated almost a million dollars so far for this chamber to do it but I think if we’re going to vote on that, we need to know clearly how it’s done, what’s going to happen, what could be plan B if it doesn’t work. … That just deserves a more thorough discussion.”

Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, also voted against the bill on similar concerns.

HB 37 now heads to the Senate for a vote. Having already passed the House, the bill would go to the governor’s office for signature if approved by the Senate.

Schwicht may be contacted at newsroom@idahopress.com.