Ron DeSantis tried to silence drag queens. Now, they’re speaking out against him at the biggest event of his struggling campaign. The first primary debate between Republican candidates for president is Wednesday. While the candidates, including Florida’s governor, will meet in Wisconsin, Wilton Manors will be home of the resistance.
Hamburger Mary’s will be filled with drag queens taking the stage and attempting to prove which candidate is the most ridiculous and dangerous. A tough challenge, to be sure, but one that the fierce and fabulous drag community is up to.
While all the Republican candidates on the stage will likely promote their bona fides on restricting women’s health and punching down on the LGBTQ community, especially LGBTQ youth, there’s one candidate likely to draw the ire of the drag queens on hand: DeSantis.
He’s the one that got the ball rolling on drag bans. Last year, he used a regulatory body to intimidate venues into not booking drag entertainment. This year, the legislature put in place a very restrictive law on live drag.
Now the very entertainers he targeted are ready to lambaste Florida’s governor.
Over the past two years, DeSantis and his super majority in Tallahassee have jammed through a buffet of hateful, discriminatory laws. The infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law first banned discussion of LGBTQ in younger grades in Florida public schools. Then it was expanded to eighth grade and then high school.
There are now book bans, including children’s picture books, abortion is restricted to six weeks, trans care is limited, and university faculty are heading for the exits as curriculum is gutted and replaced with right wing approved content.
Donald Trump, the twice impeached ex-president who currently faces 91 felony charges in four different jurisdictions, won’t be there. While his challengers try to out-deplorable each other on Fox News, the Republican front-runner is plotting his own event. He could release a new interview with former Fox talking head Tucker Carlson. Other options include turning himself in to be processed into a Fulton Co., Ga, jail following his fourth indictment or cause chaos by showing up at the debate at the last minute.
Hamburger Mary’s is a perfect choice to host politically active drag entertainers. It was this restaurant chain that challenged the drag ban in court. A court put the law on hold, as they believe it will ultimately believe it will be found unconstitutional.
The Drag Debate will take place at Hamburger Mary's in Wilton Manors on Aug. 23 at 8 p.m.
