Chesterfield venue adds age restriction to Christmas drag show after criticism from GOP lawmaker

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JEFFERSON CITY A Chesterfield entertainment venue on Monday imposed an age limit on people attending an upcoming drag show after a potential gubernatorial candidate raised questions about whether the event was pornographic in nature .

Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, sent a letter Monday to Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation saying the event could violate state and local laws designed to protect minors from pornographic material.

I urge you to take immediate action to ensure the site does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to participate in the event, Eigel said.

La Fabrique, which is organizing the event, did not respond to requests for comment. But the venue, at 17105 North Outer 40 Road in Chesterfield, changed its website on Monday afternoon or evening to say Wednesday’s event was for those 18 and over due to mature content.

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Eigel announced in September that he was considering a 2024 run for governor. He is the former leader of a conservative faction in the upper house of the Legislative Assembly.

In making drag shows a campaign issue, Eigel is following in the footsteps of other Republicans who are raising cultural issues such as transgender rights as they seek votes.

For example, Representative Heather Scott, a Republican lawmaker from Idaho, told an audience that drag queens and other LGBTQ supporters are waging a war of perversion against our children. And last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would consider sending child protective services to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows.

In Texas, a Republican-sponsored bill would impose new restrictions on drag performances by labeling any commercial enterprise that hosts one as a sex-oriented business.

The letter comes as one of Eigels’ potential GOP opponents, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, is pushing for the passage of a controversial new state rule that would strip public libraries of funding from the State whether they display books that may appeal to the sexual interests of minors.

Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe is also a candidate for governor in the 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary.

The problem for Eigel is Wednesday’s presentation of A Drag Queen Christmas.

Records show that this is at least the second year that The Factory has presented the holiday show.

But Eigel said the activity would have to be halted by police if it continued without an age limit.

Performances of this nature should be restricted to adult audiences 18 or older, he wrote.

Nation, the mayor of Chesterfield, said he had held high-level meetings with the police chief, local prosecutors and city administrators to discuss a possible response to the letter, as well as the probability that the event will attract protesters.

He said he asked the venue owner to ban minors from attending the show, but did not hear a response on Monday afternoon, before the company posted the new age limits.

Were getting an awful lot of phone calls and emails, Nation said.

In addition to targeting drag shows, Eigel is among at least three Republican lawmakers who have introduced bills for the next legislative session that would criminalize gender-affirming care for minors.

Gender-affirming care for some minors with gender dysphoria, a medical condition that involves a conflict between the sex assigned to people at birth and their gender identities, is considered medically necessary by a number of organizations. accredited majors, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Medical association.

For minors, this care usually includes puberty blockers, which are recommended for young transgender people before the onset of puberty, or hormone therapy for adolescents.

The legislation is Senate Bill 281.

Updated at 8 p.m., December 19, 2022

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