Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to deploy Florida’s child protection services on parents who take their children to drag queen shows.
The Republican warned ‘we have child protection statutes on the books’ and ‘laws against child endangerment’ as he condemned footage of youngsters dancing with acts at a gay bar in Texas last weekend.
He said there appeared to be a ‘concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age appropriate’ and blasted the clip that showed a child in front of a sign that read ‘it’s not gonna lick itself’.
His comments follow others slamming a viral video of children at a ‘drag your kids to Pride’ event at Mr. Misster gay nightclub in Dallas.
The elementary-aged youngsters were recorded dancing with drag queens wearing skimpy thongs as well as handing over cash to them during the performance.
Speaking at a news conference in Fort Myers Beach Wednesday, Ron DeSantis revealed that he has asked his state to deploy its child protective services to look into the recent phenomenon of parents taking their children to drag shows, after a video of kids attending a performance at a Dallas gay surfaced online over the weekend
The Florida governor’s comments were prompted by now viral clips that showed elementary school-aged children dancing alongside men dressed in drag at the Mr. Misster gay club Saturday, beneath a neon sign reading ‘It’s not gonna lick itself’
‘We have child protective statutes on the books,’ DeSantis, 43, told onlookers during a conference in Fort Myers Beach Wednesday, in which he addressed public outcry over the footage. ‘We have laws against child endangerment.’
Visibly troubled, the politician went on: ‘It used to be kids would be off-limits – used to be everybody agreed with that.’
‘Now it just seems like there’s a concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age appropriate.’
The governor’s comments came in response to a reporter’s inquiry about the state’s stance on the event, after Florida congressman Anthony Sabatini called for an ’emergency’ session of the Florida Legislature that would discuss charging parents with a felony if a child is brought to a drag show in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis answered that the state may already be on track to implement such a guidance, cryptically telling onlookers: ‘I’ve asked my folks to look. ‘
DeSantis went on to assert that he wanted kids in his state in a ‘normal environment’ and let ‘kids be kids’ – without having political agendas ‘shoved down their throats’ by various groups.
The conservative governor went on to point out some of the ‘inappropriate’ activity seen in the footage of the Saturday night show that kids had been exposed to at the North Dallas bar – such as being encouraged to put money in the underwear of the drag performers.
‘You had these very young kids, and they must have been like 9, 10 years old, at a quote, “drag show,” where they were putting money in the underwear of this-‘ an irate DeSantis said before eventually trailing off. ‘That is totally inappropriate. That is not something that children should be exposed to. ‘
The famously anti-woke politico then added: ‘We probably- we may have the ability to deal with that if something like that happens,’ suggesting his state was working on ways to prevent Florida parents for exposing their young to similar activities.
DeSantis’ comments came on the heels of those of fellow Republicans Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, both members of their respective state’s congress, who were in agreement that all drag shows should be ‘illegal’ for minors.
The controversial event has sparked newfound debate across the country about issues surrounding gender identity and children.
Photos and footage from the Saturday show at the Dallas gay bar showed adults sitting on stools surrounding a long narrow runway stage in the middle of the room.
As parents sipped on drinks with kids seated at their side, drag queens in dresses and glittered leotards danced along the stage, at times inviting the children to walk down the runway with them.
The drag queens snatched dollar bills from children’s outstretched hands, all beneath the glow of a pink neon sign reading ‘It’s not gonna lick itself.’
Protesters outside of Mr. Misster on Saturday. The demonstrators accused the parents in the line of enabling democrats to endorse pedophilia
Kids danced alongside drag queens beneath this large neon sign at the event at mr. Misster on Saturday. ‘It’s not gonna lick itself!’ the sign reads in large pink letters
A drag queen can be seen accepting dollar bills from audience members. Children can be seen handing over cash to the performers too
A kid handing over dollar bills to drag performers at the Mr. Misster gay nightclub at a family drag show on Saturday, June 4
An online brochure for the event read ‘Mr. Misster’s Drag The Kids To Pride Drag Show provides the ultimate family friendly pride experience. ‘
It continued: ‘Do you want to hit the stage with the queens? We have FIVE limited spots for young performers to take the stage solo, or with a queen of their choosing! Come hangout with the Queens and enjoy this unique pride experience, fit for guests of all ages! ‘