GOP criticized for demanding parental rights EXCEPT in cases of sexually explicit content

In a piece released by the Miami Herald’s editorial board on Friday, the group bashed Republicans as being the the party of parental choice, "unless parents choose drag queens."

The editorial piece comes as a number of sexually charged drag performances aimed at families and children went viral on the internet.

The board blasted leaders like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for focusing on a drag show held in Dallas at the beginning of the month over the recent January 6 trials.

The board said, "Videos posted online showed the children strutting down a catwalk with the performers and tipping them, as is customary at drag shows. 'Drag the Kids to Pride Drag Show' was advertised as a family-friendly spin-off of a local bar’s drag brunch commemorating Pride Month. Orlando also offers family-friendly drag performances such as a show-tune brunch at Hamburger Mary’s."

What the board didn’t report about the Dallas drag brunch was the neon signs that were heavily implying sexual activities, like one that read "it’s not gonna lick itself." They also didn’t say that these children that were invited to "strut" down the runway with drag queens were doing so, inside a bar, alongside scantily clad performers.

Video taken at one of these Hamburger Mary’s drag brunches, referenced by the board, showed a performer dressed in an outfit with large, silicone breasts bouncing across the dining room. A child handed the performer money as the drag queen covered up in an embarrassed manner, though they were back to bouncing around just seconds later, still in full view of the child.

"And now, the party of parental rights wants state entities to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows," the board wrote.

The board noted that children are "already banned from most drag shows at adult nightclubs, where performances can get raunchy and inappropriate for children," but didn’t note that these "raunchy" performances have spilled over into schools and restaurants, with these performances being toted as being "family friendly."

"But," it went on to say, "Republicans’ issue appears to be not with exposing children to booty dancing — which they can easily watch in pop artists’ music videos — but with the 'perverted adults,' to quote a Texas GOP lawmaker, dressed as the opposite gender," the board wrote.

They said that there’s no "uproar" about children being able to view mixed martial arts fights like those seen in the UFC alongside parents, nor shooting games like "Call of Duty, "Not to mention the internet — where drag queens are the least of the GOP’s worries."

Games like "Call of Duty" are rated for ages 18 and over, and probably should not be played by these young kids seen at drag shows. The "internet" of course has tons of dark corners, but even normal, everyday sites like Facebook and Instagram have a lower age limit of 13. In regards to the UFC, of course these fights get bloody, but fighters incorporate martial art styles that children have been engaged with for decades, like karate, wrestling, and the increasingly popular sport of jiu jitsu.

"Will the state of Florida begin monitoring what parents allow their children to see on the web? Or isn’t that a parental responsibility?" The board questioned.

The board threw the line of "parents know best" back at Republican lawmakers that used the line to pass bill banning the teaching of gender ideology to kids younger than third grade in Florida.

The board concluded that "parents know best" in terms of bringing children to these sexually charged performances, adding that "Wouldn’t bringing their child to a drag show qualify as parents exercising that autonomy? Republicans, your hypocrisy is showing."

In places like Texas, legislation has been proposed to protect children from being exposed to these performances.

"Following several news stories and videos over the weekend in which underage Texas children were subjected to inappropriate sexual content by adults, State Representative Bryan Slaton announced he plans to file legislation protecting kids from drag shows and other inappropriate displays as soon as the next legislation session begins," a letter from Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton read.

An Idaho Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation into a family friendly drag show where "genitals may have been exposed."

In Houston, Texas, a father told a school board that a teacher allegedly took his 16-year-old son to a drag performance, which featured a man that is a registered child sex offender convicted of aggravated sexual assault for performing oral sex on an eight-year-old boy.