Christian group that wants Bible read in schools introduces ‘indecent’ exhibitions bill
BOISE – An influential Christian lobbying group in Idaho wants to restrict “indecent sexual exhibitions,” including drag performances, in public spaces or areas where children might be present.
The Idaho Family Policy Center has helped draft a number of controversial pieces of legislation, including a bill last week that would require verses of the Bible be read daily in all Idaho public schools, as well as laws limiting abortion and transgender rights, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Blaine Conzatti, the group’s president, presented its newest bill to the House State Affairs committee on Thursday morning. It would require hosts and organizers of public performances considered indecent to take “reasonable steps” to safeguard their events from access by minors, Conzatti said.
“We don’t let children patronize strip clubs, and we don’t allow them to hang around adult movie stores,” a statement from Conzatti said. “So why do we allow sexualized drag exhibitions in places like public parks and community libraries?”
Under the proposed legislation, minors who access such performances and are exposed to “sexual conduct” could sue hosts and organizers for damages.
Conzatti told the committee that the bill was not intended to ban drag performances from public spaces outright, and that adults could still choose to attend such “sexual exhibitions.”
He also emphasized that the proposed legislation would hold up in court as a “time, place, and manner” restriction – a type of regulation that can put limits on free speech and expression, as long as these guardrails are content-neutral and narrowly focused. Three of the five pages of the draft legislation provide legal background, one committee member noted during the Thursday morning meeting.
Conzatti said the bill uses Federal Communications Commission standards to determine whether content is considered indecent.
He told the committee the bill would not apply to “gender-bending performances in Shakespeare,” for example. “If it’s appropriate for daytime television broadcasts, then it’s appropriate for a live performance in public where children might be present,” he said.
A media release from the Idaho Family Policy Center notes that the bill was “prompted by drag shows held last year in public parks in both Coeur d’Alene and Boise.”
The group is being sued by a North Idaho drag performer for defamation related to a 2022 dance performance in Coeur d’Alene, the Statesman previously reported. The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that the group spread false and damaging statements about the performer. In an email to the Statesman in October, a spokesperson for the Idaho Family Policy Center denied making false statements and called the suit “leftist bullying tactics.”
The spokesperson did not respond to an email from the Statesman about the new indecency bill.
The Statesman also reached out to Boise Pride via email and did not receive an immediate response.
The House committee unanimously voted to introduce the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle. It will next go to a public hearing.