Source: idahocapitalsun.com 2/25/25
Bill, drafted by the Idaho Family Policy Center, was inspired by drag shows held in public parks in Coeur d’Alene and Boise
The Idaho House widely passed a bill to limit youth access to public performances considered “indecent sexual exhibitions,” such as drag shows.
House Bill 230, sponsored by Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, would require event hosts and organizers to “take reasonable steps to restrict” minors’ access to public performances that involve “live persons engaged in sexual conduct,” if such performances are “patently offensive to an average person applying contemporary community standards in the adult community.”
Minors exposed would have a cause of action under the bill, giving them standing in lawsuits.
The bill’s statement of purpose says the legislation “uses the same indecency standard utilized by the federal government to determine whether content is appropriate for daytime television.”
Calling the bill “constitutionally sound,” Hill told House lawmakers the bill’s focus is to create “a duty of care for” providers or performers of “sexually indecent exhibitions.”
“I see that the goal posts, as they say, are moving. What is acceptable? The reason why the government needs to step in (is) because the boundary keeps moving farther and farther out. And that’s where it’s time for us to say, ‘Let’s, let’s protect our children,’” Hill said.
The Idaho House of Representatives passed the bill after little debate Monday on a 54-11 vote. All of the Idaho House’s nine Democrats voted against the bill, joined by two Republicans.