Fact check: No, Florida did not define drag shows as sex crimes punishable by death

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·3 min read
14

The claim: Drag shows are sex crimes punishable by death in Florida

An April 20 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a TikTok video of a woman speaking about purported new actions taken by the Florida legislature.

"The Florida legislature has defined drag as a sex crime against children and in the same legislative breath have decided that sex crimes against children are punishable by the death penalty, and only by an 8 to 4 vote instead of unanimous decision," the woman says. "Make no mistake this is the beginning of a queer holocaust. This is state-sanctioned execution of people in gender-non-conforming clothing."

The post generated over 1,000 shares in less than two weeks.

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Our rating: False

The Florida legislature has not defined drag shows as sex crimes punishable by death, according to multiple legal experts. Rather, the post conflates several bills passed by the Florida legislature, which do not create this penalty either individually or together.

Post conflates several bills in Florida

The only crime that's eligible for the death penalty under the state's existing law is first-degree murder, according to Craig Trocino, a criminal law expert at the University of Miami.

The woman in the TikTok video is conflating three separate actions in the Florida legislature, Alex Saiz, a criminal defense lawyer and director of legal services at the Florida Justice Center, told USA TODAY.

Saiz said the reference to drag shows in the post stems from Senate Bill 1438, which passed both houses of the Florida legislature but has not been signed into law.

The bill doesn’t directly mention drag shows. Rather, it addresses adult live performances, which refers to any show, exhibition or presentation that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, specific sexual activities or any other lewd conduct.

The bill says knowingly exposing children to these performances can result in a first-degree misdemeanor charge, which can be punished by up to one year in jail, according to Saiz. It makes no mention of a death penalty.

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Separate from that legislation is House Bill 1297, which also passed the Florida legislature but has not been signed into law. Nothing in the bill addresses drag shows or adult live performances.

The bill would allow the death penalty for certain child sex offenses involving capital sexual battery, which is when a person 18 or older commits sexual battery upon or injures the sexual organs of a person less than 12, according to Florida statute.

The 8 to 4 vote for death penalties referenced in the post is from a third proposal, Senate Bill 450, that was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 20. The law eliminates the requirement that juries have to unanimously recommend a death penalty, lowering that threshold to eight out of 12 jurors.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also debunked this claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Florida bills on drag shows, death penalty misrepresented