Garcia slams effort to ban drag shows as GOP passes NDAA with anti-LGBTQ riders
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) slammed Republican U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen’s (Okla.) effort to ban drag shows on American military bases during a debate over the annual National Defense Authorization Act spending bill on Thursday.
The appropriations package, which contains five anti-LGBTQ riders pushed by House GOP members, was passed on Friday. “We know there are a lot of threats to the health and well-being of our service members and their families: poisoned water, toxic mold in military housing, PTSD, and suicide,” said Garcia, who is gay and a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “So I’m stunned to see that the Republican idea to protect our troops is to ban drag shows,” he said. “Mr.
Speaker, my Republican colleagues want us to believe that ‘these gays are trying to murder us.’ They want us to believe that drag is harmful, or immoral and wrong.
This is ridiculous.” “We can document and celebrate drag shows on military bases since the late 1800s, and through both world wars,” Garcia continued. “The USO and the Red Cross supported drag during World War II.
