A new bill making its way through the Iowa legislature would make it a crime to expose a minor to an "obscene performance."
Senate File 2176 defines an "obscene performance" as a performance that exposes the person’s genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast, including prosthetics, or involves a person engaging in a sex act and is “patently offensive, and the performance taken as a whole lacks serious artistic, literary, political, or scientific value.” The bill does not specifically mention drag performances.
The bill states that "any person who knowingly exposes a minor to an obscene performance is guilty of a public offense and shall upon conviction be guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor."
The bill made it out of the subcommittee. The three state senators recommended that it pass with amendment. Supporters of the bill spoke in favor of what some are calling "common sense legislation" during Wednesday's meeting.
"I appreciate this bill giving parents recourse for someone knowingly exposing their child to obscenity," one woman said. "The impact of our children being exposed to obscenity could have a long-lasting impact on their lives."
And even those against it said they have a similar point of view.
"It's obviously inappropriate for minors to be exposed to obscene material in terms of the definition in this bill," Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at One Iowa, said.
