Ohio House passes drag ban targeting trans and gender non-conforming people
A new bill targeting drag queens and gender performance has passed the Ohio House (stock image via Getty Images)
The Ohio House has passed House Bill 249 on Wednesday (25 March), advancing legislation that would restrict drag and gender-related performances while also impacting transgender and gender non-conforming people’s access to gendered public spaces.
The bill, dubbed “The Enact the Indecent Exposure Modernisation Act”, which now heads to the Senate, passed 63–30 largely along party lines and would ban such performances outside “adult cabaret” venues or in any location where minors may be present.
Public performances that meet the legal definition of obscenity are already prohibited under Ohio law.
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Critics warn the bill goes far beyond performances, pointing to language that targets individuals whose gender expression differs from their sex assigned at birth.
Lawmakers backing the bill have openly stated it could be used to restrict transgender people from using gendered facilities like locker rooms.
During debate, sponsor Josh Williams said he opposed removing that language, arguing it would “undermine” the bill’s intent, and later claimed he wanted to stop “perverts from exposing kids to obscene material,” as reported by The Buckeye Flame.
What do critics say?
LGBTQ+ advocates and Democratic lawmakers have strongly condemned the measure, warning it could criminalise everyday behaviour and increase discrimination.
Equality Ohio CEO Dwayne Steward said the bill “takes regular, everyday activities and turns them into potential crimes,” while Rep. Dontavious Jarrells added: “This bill is not about children. This is about the dehumanisation of people… This bill literally singles out people who are trans, those who are gender non-conforming, and basically calls into question, ‘Should you exist in the public eye?’ That is the reality of this bill. When you talk about what this bill really is, it is an attack on human lives.”
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