Some Republicans are trying to foment a moral panic about LGBTQ people supposedly “grooming” children for sexual exploitation, and they have made drag shows a centerpiece of their arguments.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has been particularly outspoken — he threatened to have child protective services investigate parents who take their children to drag shows, and he is trying to yank the alcohol license of a Miami restaurant that hosts drag shows with children in attendance. Republican legislators in states including Florida, Texas and Arizona are trying to ban minors from attending drag shows — as if that were the biggest threat facing America’s children. Some drag events have been interrupted by protesters and others have been canceled because of threats of violence.
So it was probably not surprising that my stepfather, Washington Post columnist Max Boot, struck a nerve with an article last week in which he celebrated the American values exemplified by such liberal havens as Provincetown, Massachusetts, where our family spent a couple of weeks in August riding bikes, kayaking and going to the beach. “I even took my step-kids to a drag show,” he wrote.
