Pennsylvania State Representative Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia County) has made his intentions clear: he wants to criminalize drag performances and, by extension, LGBTQ+ public life in the Commonwealth. In a memo circulated to his colleagues, Leadbeter announced plans to introduce a bill that would make it a third-degree felony for anyone to allow a minor to attend a drag show.
Let’s be absolutely clear about what this means: this bill would effectively criminalize Pride celebrations across Pennsylvania.
Leadbeter’s memo frames his proposal as a necessary step to protect children from “sexually suggestive themes, provocative outfits, and explicit language.” But let’s examine the language of his proposed legislation. He argues that Pennsylvania’s current corruption of minors law—already disturbingly broad—should explicitly include drag shows. The phrasing is intentionally vague, opening the door for sweeping interpretations.
Would a drag queen reading books at a library be considered criminal? Would minors attending a drag brunch with their families result in felony charges for parents and event organizers? Would entire Pride festivals be shut down for fear of prosecution?
The answer to all of the above is almost certainly “yes.” That’s the point. The language of the bill is designed not to clarify existing laws but to weaponize them against LGBTQ+ spaces and events.
Leadbeter frames his bill as a defense of “traditional family values” and “parental rights.” But whose family values? Whose parental rights? Certainly not those of LGBTQ+ parents who want to raise their children with pride in their identities. Certainly not those of supportive parents who believe in teaching their children about diversity, acceptance, and joy.
And let’s be real—drag is not inherently sexual. Drag is an art form, a celebration of performance, gender play, and self-expression. Leadbeter’s attempt to conflate drag with sexually explicit content is the same tired, dangerous rhetoric that has been used to demonize queer people for decades.
If he were genuinely concerned about the welfare of children, perhaps he’d address real issues like the ongoing crisis of gun violence in school, the alarming rise in youth homelessness, particularly among LGBTQ+ youth, or the devastating mental health crisis affecting young people across the state.
Instead, he’s choosing to focus on drag queens—because attacking LGBTQ+ people is an easy way to score political points with his base.
This is not happening in a vacuum. Pennsylvania is just the latest battleground in a nationwide conservative crusade against LGBTQ+ rights. Similar bills have popped up across the country, from Tennessee’s anti-drag law, which was struck down as unconstitutional, to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” policies.
If Leadbeter’s bill passes, Pennsylvania would join the ranks of states attempting to erase queer culture and history under the guise of protecting children. And make no mistake—this is about erasure.
If Pride festivals can’t legally allow minors to attend because there are drag performances, then Pride as we know it is gone. If LGBTQ+ events fear prosecution, they will either be canceled or forced underground.
This is what state-sponsored oppression looks like.
Leadbeter’s bill is an attack, but we are not defenseless. Pennsylvania’s queer community has fought too hard to be erased now.
This is our home. This is our community. And we are not going anywhere.
