On March 6, 2024 the Missouri House of Representatives convened its Special Committee on Public Policy to hear testimonies relating to House Bill No. 1650. Proposed by Representative Mazzie Christensen, this bill aims to impose tighter restrictions on commercial businesses allowing drag performances that might be deemed sexual in nature. If the bill is passed, drag performers could face felony charges for performing in spaces that are open to the public or labeled as child-friendly.
Landon Patterson (she/her), one of Kansas City’s most prolific drag performers, gave testimony against H.B. 1650 that evening. Also known by her stage presence, Lana Luxx the “Taylor Swift illusionist,” she was the first trans woman to be voted homecoming queen in the state of Missouri. Born and raised in Missouri and a “proud Kansas Citian” her testimony emphasized drag’s ability to “bring people together.” As a “Taylor Swift illusionist,” Lana Luxx has sold out multiple all-ages Taylor Swift performances. At these events, she states, “kids do not care about my gender or who I am under the costume. To them, I am just Taylor and bringing them joy and fun.”
Aside from serving as a form of age-appropriate entertainment, Patterson’s drag performances also help local businesses. Through drag, Patterson “had the privilege to host multiple charity drag bingos” whose proceeds went towards causes including youth scholarships, youth sports teams, and cancer research. H.B. 1650 restricts people’s ability to express themselves authentically. It brings financial harm to drag performers, for many of whom drag is a form of income. If signed into law, the bill would ban Landon’s Taylor Swift performances and would hurt the many local businesses and charities that benefit from them.
LGBTQ advocate Andrew Hartzler (he/him) was also present and testified against the bill at the hearing. He gained acclaim after going viral on Tik Tok in December 2022 for speaking out against his aunt, former Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler, for condemning the Respect for Marriage Act on the House floor. A GLAAD Media Institute alum, Hartzler attended GLAAD’s Engagement 101 training in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now he lives in Kansas City, Missouri – where the GMI recently conducted a training in October 2023 – as he continues to advocate for the queer community.
Prior to the hearing, The GLAAD Media Institute met with Hartzler to help prepare his statement. At the hearing he provided a moving testimony focusing on the ways in which the criminalization of drag performances hurts LGBTQ people everywhere. For Hartzler, “Being LGBTQ in Missouri means having to look over your shoulder before you hold hands with the person you love.” He later recounts a frightening experience in which patrons waiting outside of a queer bar in Kansas City were injured as a result of a pellet-gun shooting. Hartzler states, “By allowing a bill like this [H.B. 1650] to be heard, you are legitimizing the harm directed at my community, and demonizing the few so-called safe spaces we have left. H.B. 1650, and the hundreds of others being tracked by the ACLU continue to put members of the queer community in danger not just in Missouri, but around the country. Such harmful rhetoric is directly linked to an increase in physical violence against the LGBTQ community, such as in the tragic death of Nex Benedict in Owasso, Oklahoma.
GMI alum Justice Horn can be seen here sharing his thoughts with KCTV Station on the anti-drag bill:
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