{"id":2067081,"date":"2023-10-14T06:27:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T10:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/drag-show-at-knoxville-pride-fest-tests-tennessee-child-protection-law\/"},"modified":"2023-10-14T06:28:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T10:28:47","slug":"drag-show-at-knoxville-pride-fest-tests-tennessee-child-protection-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/drag-show-at-knoxville-pride-fest-tests-tennessee-child-protection-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Knoxville Pride Fest&#8217;s Drag Show Challenges Child Protection Law in Tennessee."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdrag-show-at-knoxville-pride-fest-tests-tennessee-child-protection-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2067081&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. \u200d\u2014 Despite a recent ban on drag \u200bperformances for children in Tennessee,\u2062 the law may have little impact due to non-enforcement and judicial rulings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>At\u2062 Pride Fest in Knoxville on Oct. 7,\u200d a man wearing only ladies&#8217; underwear, gloves, and \u200bhigh heels put on a provocative\u200c show in front of an audience that included children. The crowd cheered enthusiastically.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If this were happening in front of a school, I would have him in cuffs in the back of my cruiser,&#8221; a nearby police officer told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>However, local and state authorities are currently\u2064 not \u2063enforcing the ban on drag performances for children in Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p>While a court order has suspended the law in some parts\u200c of the state, some district attorneys and the state&#8217;s attorney \u2062general argue that the law still applies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<h2 class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/sen-blackburn-democrat-tennessee-three-challenger-rake-in-millions-in-early-2024-fundraising-5504139?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>Sen. Blackburn, Democrat &#8216;Tennessee Three&#8217; Challenger Rake in Millions in Early 2024 Fundraising<\/h3>\n<p>            <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/5\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/sen-blackburn-democrat-tennessee-three-challenger-rake-in-millions-in-early-2024-fundraising-5504139?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/us-court-upholds-tennessee-ban-on-transgender-procedures-for-children-5500911?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>US Court Upholds Tennessee Ban on Transgender Procedures for Children<\/h3>\n<p>            <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/29\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/us-court-upholds-tennessee-ban-on-transgender-procedures-for-children-5500911?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;If \u200dthis were happening in front of a school, I would have him in cuffs in the back \u2064of my cruiser,&#8221;\u2062 a\u2064 nearby police officer told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2064for now, \u200blocal and state authorities aren&#8217;t enforcing Tennessee&#8217;s law prohibiting \u2062children at \u2063drag performances, the officer said.<\/p>\n<p>Although a court order suspends the law in at \u200cleast some parts of Tennessee, some \u2064district attorneys and the state&#8217;s attorney general \u200bargue the law still applies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Legal Controversy<\/h2>\n<p>Some Tennessee attorneys said the judge&#8217;s ruling doesn&#8217;t apply outside the 30th District, which covers Shelby County in the southwestern corner of the state.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That&#8217;s the opinion of state Attorney General Jonathan \u200dSkrmetti.<\/p>\n<p>And\u2062 Ryan Desmond, \u200dthe district attorney for Tennessee&#8217;s Fifth Judicial District, wrote a memo saying he also believes that the overturning of\u200c the law applies only to drag performances in the 30th District.<\/p>\n<p>Other drag performances in other parts of the state are still illegal, he\u2062 wrote.<\/p>\n<p>That would include drag performances in Knoxville, which is in Knox\u200c County, part of the Sixth \u200dJudicial Circuit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Attorney General for the\u2064 State of Tennessee maintains\u2064 that \u2063the \u2063AEA passes constitutional muster, \u2062has appealed this holding, and further opined that the ruling is binding only on the 30th Judicial District,&#8221; Mr. Desmond wrote in a public statement.<\/p>\n<p>Any drag show for children in his district, which covers Blount County, will\u200b face prosecution, he warned.<\/p>\n<p>In response to\u200b that statement, the \u200dAmerican\u200d Civil Liberties Union\u200b (ACLU) has sued Mr. Desmond. The lawsuit \u200bhas triggered a\u200c temporary block \u200dof enforcement of\u2064 the law in \u200bBlount County.<\/p>\n<p>Even clear violations of \u200blaws\u200d don&#8217;t always\u2064 result in charges being brought against lawbreakers.\u200d In many counties across America, prosecutors who identify politically as &#8220;progressive&#8221; choose \u2064not to enforce some laws.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>In Florida&#8217;s Ninth Judicial Circuit under state attorney Monique Worrell, nearly half of the people arrested went free without prosecution. In response, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis removed her from\u200d her elected office and replaced her, saying she&#8217;d \u2062failed \u200dto do her job.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Stand Up\u200b for Pride&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s stand up for Pride \u200cat this festival,&#8221; Knoxville&#8217;s mayor, Indya\u2062 Kincannon, urged the audience. &#8220;But let&#8217;s make our power felt\u200c at the \u200bballot box every single opportunity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Tennessee state Sen. Gloria Johnson, \u200ba Democrat, also spoke.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The attacks on the LGBTQ community are heinous,&#8221; Ms. Johnson said. &#8220;And they are \u2063many. And we know that we\u200c will see more this year. But we will stand up and push\u2063 back, and we\u200b will \u2063fight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:710px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Children\u200c watch a drag performance\u200d at Pride Fest in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 7, 2023. (Jackson Elliott\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Legal Controversy<\/h2>\n<p>Some Tennessee attorneys said the judge&#8217;s ruling doesn&#8217;t apply outside the 30th District, which covers Shelby County in\u2064 the southwestern corner \u2063of the state.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That&#8217;s the opinion of state Attorney \u2064General Jonathan Skrmetti.<\/p>\n<p>And Ryan\u2063 Desmond, the district attorney for Tennessee&#8217;s Fifth Judicial District, wrote a memo saying he also believes that the overturning \u2063of the law \u2063applies \u2062only to drag performances in the 30th District.<\/p>\n<p>Other drag performances in other parts of the state are still\u2062 illegal, he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>That\u200d would\u200d include drag\u200d performances in Knoxville, which is in Knox County, part of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The \u200bAttorney General for the State of Tennessee maintains that the AEA passes constitutional muster, has \u200bappealed this holding, and further opined that the ruling is binding\u200d only on the 30th Judicial District,&#8221; Mr.\u200c Desmond\u2062 wrote in a public statement.<\/p>\n<p>Any drag show for children in his district, which covers Blount\u200c County, will face prosecution, he warned.<\/p>\n<p>In response to that statement, the American Civil\u200d Liberties \u200cUnion (ACLU) has sued Mr. Desmond. The lawsuit \u2064has triggered a temporary block of enforcement of \u2064the\u200b law in Blount County.<\/p>\n<p>Even clear violations of laws don&#8217;t always\u2062 result in charges being \u2062brought against\u200c lawbreakers. In many counties across America, prosecutors who identify politically as &#8220;progressive&#8221; choose\u200b not \u2064to \u200denforce some\u200c laws.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>In Florida&#8217;s Ninth Judicial Circuit under state \u200battorney Monique Worrell, nearly\u2063 half of the people arrested went\u200b free without prosecution. In response, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis removed her from her elected office and replaced her, saying\u2064 she&#8217;d\u2064 failed to do her job.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Stand Up for Pride&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s stand up for Pride at this \u2064festival,&#8221; Knoxville&#8217;s mayor, Indya Kincannon,\u2062 urged the \u2064audience. &#8220;But let&#8217;s make our power\u2063 felt at the ballot box every single opportunity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Tennessee state Sen. Gloria Johnson, a Democrat, also spoke.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The attacks on the LGBTQ community are heinous,&#8221; Ms. Johnson\u200c said. &#8220;And they are\u200d many. And we know that we will see more this year. But we will stand up and\u2063 push back, and we will fight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:656px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Mayor Indya Kincannon speaks at Pride Fest in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 7,\u200b 2023. (Jackson Elliott\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The\u200b mayor and the senator emphasized the importance of winning elections\u2062 to advance LGBT causes.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times\u2063 contacted the offices of\u200d the Knoxville mayor and the \u200bTennessee\u2062 Attorney General about the lawfulness of the drag shows at\u200d the Knoxville Pride Fest. The \u200bmayor didn&#8217;t respond, and the attorney general declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>The Knoxville mayor&#8217;s LGBT\u2064 liaison,\u2064 Chip Barry, told The Epoch Times by email that he couldn&#8217;t comment on the drag show&#8217;s content because \u200bhe wasn&#8217;t there to witness \u2063it\u2062 firsthand. When The Epoch Times sent him a video of the Pride Fest drag show\u200c that had children present, Mr. Barry didn&#8217;t respond.<\/p>\n<p>At the \u200devent, a Tennessee Equality Project booth announced that the AEA was part of a &#8220;Slate of Hate&#8221; enacted by Tennessee Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>They\u200c called\u200d out laws that ban child sex-change surgeries, prohibit children from attending cabaret-style shows, define the term &#8220;sex&#8221; as biological sex, ban men from participating in women&#8217;s sports, and provide protections for teachers who object to referring to a \u2062child by pronouns that don&#8217;t correspond to his or her biological sex.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Tennessee ranks #1 for anti-LGBT laws,&#8221; the \u200cgroup said.<\/p>\n<p>The Pride Fest&#8217;s offerings included a plethora of sexual material, with ample \u2064corporate support. Many booths at the event seemed designed \u200dto welcome children and draw them in.<\/p>\n<p>Boxes \u200cof condoms were placed on tables, \u2062free for the taking, and other sex materials stood only inches away from\u2064 a display labeled &#8220;kids\u200d table.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:791px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>A little girl stands near a condom distribution table at Pride Fest in\u200c Knoxville, Tennessee\u2063 on Oct. 7, 2023. (Jackson\u200c Elliott\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Parents pulling wagons wheeled their prepubescent children past a tent\u200c that displayed\u2064 signs with explicit sexual language and crude references to genitalia.<\/p>\n<p>Nearby, event sponsors such as \u2064Amazon, the cell \u2062phone\u2063 company Boost Mobile, U.S. Bank, and First Horizon Bank had tents\u2062 announcing their support for the LGBT\u200b community.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;First Horizon&#8217;s a very big supporter of the community,&#8221; said employee Jeffrey Blair.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Blair said that if a child\u2062 wanted sex-change surgery, First Horizon would likely \u200bhave &#8220;some sort of\u200b policy&#8221; \u200ca family could use \u200bto pay \u2063for it.<\/p>\n<p>Roaming the grounds were several &#8220;Furries,&#8221; people who often identify as\u200d animals and may wear animal costumes\u2062 while engaging in \u2062sexual behavior.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>According to an academic survey of 334 male furries by\u200d Northwestern University professors \u2063Kevin Hsu and Michael Bailey,\u2063 99 percent of male \u2062furries have some degree of sexual\u200c motive for being furries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Too\u200b Young for Sex Change?<\/h2>\n<p>Some Pride attendees told The Epoch Times they objected to curtailing a child&#8217;s right to \u2064watch drag shows or get sex-change surgery.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s up to their parents, and their \u200cparents \u200bneed to make good decisions,&#8221; said John Buss, who said he was gay.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2063 pointed to &#8220;top institutions&#8221; such as Vanderbilt University, which has actively promoted\u200d child sex-change procedures in its offerings.<\/p>\n<p>So when it comes to deciding when \u200dit&#8217;s \u200bappropriate to allow children to decide \u2063on whether to undergo sex-change procedures, &#8220;It&#8217;s a tough \u2064question,\u2064 but I don&#8217;t think there is an age&#8221; that&#8217;s too \u2063young to have gender surgery, said Mr. Buss.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:681px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>John \u200dBuss, a homosexual\u2062 man, attends Pride Fest in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 7, 2023. (Jackson Elliott\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Julia Porto, a man wearing\u2062 a dress,\u2062 said hatred motivated those who have worked to deny \u2064sex-change surgery to children.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It feels like half a political maneuver and half just blind hatred,&#8221; \u2063he said.<\/p>\n<p>A\u200d woman\u200d at Pride Fest who said she works as a school counselor told The Epoch Times she encourages children in their non-heterosexual\u200b gender identities without their parents&#8217; knowledge\u2063 or permission. She declined to \u2062give her name\u200d because she said she feared her school would punish\u2063 her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of difficult because I don&#8217;t want the kids\u2062 to be put into a situation where they&#8217;re not safe, and\u2062 by outing them to their parents, if\u200b they&#8217;re not out, that could put them into a potentially dangerous situation,&#8221; the counselor \u2064said. The \u200cterm &#8220;outing&#8221; refers to revealing publicly a nonheterosexual identity.<\/p>\n<p>The counselor\u2064 said \u200dshe discusses LGBT issues with students in her rural community.\u2063 However, \u2062parents often disagree with their children&#8217;s new gender identity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:599px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Julia \u2062Porto, \u2063a\u2062 man, poses in \u200dthe dress he wore to\u200c Pride Fest in Knoxville, Tenn., \u200bon \u200cOct. 7, 2023. (Jackson Elliott\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s wrong to tell a child he or she is too young to know if they&#8217;re transgender, the \u2063counselor said.<\/p>\n<p>Standing just outside\u2064 Pride Fest was a lone protester.<\/p>\n<p>Ander Bowers, \u200ca\u2064 Christian, told The Epoch Times he believes \u2064that showing strip acts to children is child \u200cabuse.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p><em>The Associated \u2064Press contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn.\u2014Despite the Tennessee Legislature&#8217;s ban on drag performances for children, its effectiveness remains questionable due to non-enforcement and judicial rulings. At Knoxville&#8217;s Pride Fest, a man provocatively dressed in ladies&#8217; underwear, gloves, and high heels performed on stage, disregarding the presence of children in the audience. The crowd&#8217;s reaction was mixed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":2067082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2067081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/259"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2067081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2067082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2067081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2067081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2067081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}