California lawmaker jokes about making 'Drag Queen 101’ part of K-12 curriculum
A California state lawmaker has joked about making the controversial "Drag Queen Story Time" trend a requirement for the K-12 curriculum in schools, a response to a Texas legislator who wants to ban children from participating in or attending drag shows.
Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, tweeted the suggestion Tuesday in response to a pledge from Texas Republican Rep. Bryan Slaton to introduce legislation that would ban drag shows and other sexually inappropriate displays in the presence of children in his state.
Slaton proposed the idea Monday, two days after videos from a "family-friendly" drag event at the gay bar Mr. Misster in Dallas went viral.
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In reference to Slaton's statement, Wiener replied: "This guy just gave me a bill idea: Offering Drag Queen 101 as part of the K-12 curriculum. Attending Drag Queen Story Time will satisfy the requirement."
This guy just gave me a bill idea:
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 7, 2022
Offering Drag Queen 101 as part of the K-12 curriculum. Attending Drag Queen Story Time will satisfy the requirement. https://t.co/Sogz2Ag8jV
Slaton responded to Wiener: "This man is a California legislator. He is clearly sick. Please join me in praying for him."
This man is a California legislator. He is clearly sick. Please join me in praying for him. https://t.co/YI55gXRFPA
— Bryan Slaton (@BryanforHD2) June 7, 2022
Wiener told Fox News the tweet was a joke. The post remained online as of Thursday morning. Wiener's office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday by The Christian Post.
The openly gay Weiner serves as the chair of the California Senate's Housing Committee and formerly chaired the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
The lawmaker is known for previously sponsoring SB 145, a bill that removes the requirement for adults to register as a sex offender after committing certain sex acts with minors within a 10-year age difference.
Following its passage in 2020, Wiener's office insisted that SB 145 "does not legalize any kind of sex with a minor and does not change the potential sentence for having sex with an underage person.
"Rather, the bill simply gives judges the ability to evaluate whether or not to require registration as a sex offender."
Wiener's office maintained California law did not require the placement of adults who engaged in vaginal intercourse with a minor between the ages of 14 and 17 on the sex offender registry. On the other hand, state law required all adults who engaged in oral and anal intercourse with minors to be placed on a sex offender registry.
"This distinction in the law — which is irrational, at best ... disproportionately targets LGBTQ young people for mandatory sex offender registration for forms of intercourse in which they engage."
Wiener was also on hand for this year's annual Easter "Hunky Jesus" costume contest in San Francisco, which featured an egg hunt for children and a variety show featuring men in drag and performances from several local acts.
He tweeted that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the self-described "order of queer and trans nuns" which runs the event, "do so much for our community & help remind us what the spirit of San Francisco is about - celebrating this beautiful tapestry of a city."
After 3 very long years, Easter in Dolores Park with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is back!
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) April 17, 2022
The Sister do so much for our community & help remind us what the spirit of San Francisco is about - celebrating this beautiful tapestry of a city.
Happy Easter in the park! pic.twitter.com/BjfsAQ2H1n
Other states are considering legislative action following the Dallas drag show controversy. In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled he would be open to legislation that would ban taking children in the state to drag shows.
Calling the Dallas event "really, really disturbing," DeSantis lamented the effort "targeting these kids with all this stuff" at a news conference Wednesday.
"It used to be kids would be off-limits," DeSantis said. "It used to be everybody agreed with that and now it just seems like there's a concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age-appropriate."
DeSantis' remarks about the Dallas drag show followed a question from a reporter about Republican state Rep. Anthony Sabatini's call for an "emergency special session" to ban drag shows for children.
