Ohio legislation proposed after Perrysburg boy's drag show
An online firestorm in response to a Perrysburg, Ohio, 9-year-old boy’s drag performance at a Lancaster bar has led to proposed legislation seeking to close what its Republican sponsor characterizes as a “loophole in Ohio’s child exploitation law.”
House Bill 180, sponsored by Rep. Tim Schaffer (R., Lancaster), would expand Ohio's definition of child endangering to include a performance that suggests a minor is participating in, or simulating, sexual activity that “taken as a whole by the average person applying contemporary standards, appeals to the prurient interest.” Such a performance would also lead to revocation of the club’s liquor license.
But Jerri Measley, mother of 9-year-old Jacob Measley, said “Jacob is just a guy who likes to dress up and dance and feel pretty,” she said. “It’s kind of like Halloween every time he has the opportunity to do it.”
The bill is a reaction to a December performance by Jacob, who performs in drag under the name “Miss Mae Hem,” at JD Hendersons bar in Lancaster.
Public reaction was fanned by a Facebook page ... Critics of a video shared online objected to the boy’s costume, which included a leotard and wig, dance moves characterized as sexual in nature, and that the boy can be seen accepting money from bar patrons during the performance.
https://www.toledoblade.com/local/politics/2019/04/19/ohio-tim-schaffer-proposes-house-bill-180-banning-sexually-suggestive-performance/stories/20190419137
