LGBTQ+ State Senator Proposes Ban on 'Religious Indoctrination' of Kids

A bisexual state senator in Nebraska has proposed that a measure be enacted prohibiting children from enrolling in Bible studies, attending church camps, or participating in other forms of “religious indoctrination.”

Megan Hunt, the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Nebraska Legislature, presented this proposal as an amendment to a bill prohibiting minors from attending drag shows.

Under the bill, LB371, introduced by Republican Sen. Dave Murman, anyone under 19 would be prohibited from attending drag shows. The bill defines drag as a performance by someone who uses clothing, makeup, or other physical markers to demonstrate a gender identity that is different from what they were born with, as well as singing, lip-synching, dancing, or performing for entertainment.

Murman claims never to have attended a drag performance but relies on videos he’s seen online to judge them as inappropriate for children, Nebraska Public Media reported.

“I think the vast majority of Nebraskans would agree that sexualized dancing and enhanced genitals is not appropriate for children to view,” he said.

Because of the broad wording in the bill, critics argue it would ban children from attending theatrical performances like Shakespeare’s works and musicals, where men routinely dress to perform women’s roles.

It’s unclear how Murman’s proposed law would affect the restaurant Hooters, which features women in suggestive tank tops who serve the patrons. Nebraska has at least one Hooters in the town of La Vista. All ages are welcome in the establishment.

Hunt chose to highlight the hypocrisy of the proposed law, even if the conservative legislature passes it. Her amendment would prohibit children from attending camps that are religiously based, like Bible camps.

“There is a well-documented history of indoctrination and sexual abuse perpetrated by religious leaders and clergy people upon children,” according to the amendment. “Abusers within churches and other religious institutions often use events like church or youth-group-sponsored camps and retreats to earn children’s trust and gain unsupervised access to such children in order to commit such abuse.”

Children also are prohibited from attending religious camps where alcoholic liquor is served, regardless if such alcoholic liquor is part of a religious ceremony. The amended law would punish violators and groups that host these camps with a fine of $10,000.

“This is an amendment that I will use to make a point about the underlying bill, LB371, which bans all-ages drag shows,” Hunt told The Advocate. “This amendment obviously won’t pass, and I would withdraw it if it had the votes to pass. It’s just a device to make a point.”

Hunt says she has introduced similar amendments to other bills.

“Any manufacturer who distributes chocolate-coated candy for consumption by an individual under nineteen years of age without explicitly identifying the candy’s gender assigned at birth on the 11 packaging of such candy shall be fined ten thousand dollars,” reads an amendment she wrote in January.

“They aren’t meant to pass,” Hunt said. “They are meant to help kill harmful and discriminatory bills like LB371, which, if we are forced to debate in the full legislature, will truly be a waste of time for Nebraskans and for lawmakers.”