Halter-top hysteria: The unintended consequences of Florida's attempt to ban drag shows

In the late 1930s, a movie known as "Reefer Madness" was released under several different titles. The purpose of the film was to provide American parents and their children a dire warning about the dangers of marijuana use.

Not only was the film unsuccessful in eradicating use of the drug, marijuana advocates actually gave it a mini-revival in the 1970s as a campy bit of social satire, mocking the movie's credibility-stretching plot and its over-the-top earnestness.

What happened over the weekend at Port St. Lucie's Mid-Florida Event Center reminded me of "Reefer Madness" and the law of unintended consequences.

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In case you missed the news, a group of gay activists decided to scale back their plans for a Pridefest event held Saturday for fear they would run afoul of a new law that, as of this writing, is still awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature. After consulting with city officials, the event's organizers decided to cancel a planned parade and restrict the event's entrants to people 21 or older.

The organizers were apparently worried the governor could make a decision to sign the so-called "Protection of Children" bill into law shortly before the event happened. Since the bill, already approved by the Florida Legislature, is supposed to take effect immediately upon becoming law, there were worries the event as originally planned could have been in violation and jeopardized the city-run facility's liquor permit.

"Halter-Top Hysteria" is apparently alive and well in the state of Florida.

City officials were quick to say the decision to change plans was made by the organizers, not as the result of any kind of official edict. Still, we may never know for sure how much pressure city officials applied to get those changes made.

So basically, what we had was a group of law-abiding citizens agreeing to censor their own activities to please lawmakers kowtowing to a real or imagined "anti-woke" mob. I wonder if the legislators, and those who support them, really understand what they're doing.

First of all, the law itself doesn't specifically address drag shows. What it attempts to regulate are "adult live performances," which are defined as shows that depict or simulate "nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities" that are "patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community of this state."

Unless I'm missing something, there are already laws on the books that prohibit public nudity and lewd and lascivious behavior. These laws are most commonly used to regulate strip clubs and other forms of adult entertainment.

If the intent is to prevent men from parading around in dresses (or women from donning men's clothing), the language of the five-page bill provides no help. The provisions of the bill are entirely fashion neutral. Had the event organizers allowed the parade to go forward, the as-yet-unsigned law wouldn't have prevented cross-dressers from taking part, much less gay people dressed in more conventional garb.

It appears the law could prevent, intentionally or not, live musical performances in which the artists touch their genitalia or dance in sexually suggestive ways. Which applies to a lot of entertainers popular with the straight crowd.

But let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture here. If our elected leaders in Tallahassee think they can legislatively eradicate gay people (or cross dressing, or whatever it is they think is "patently offensive" to the majority of Floridians), they may be about to fall into the same trap that befell "Reefer Madness."

A great many legislators are parents and all of them were at one time children themselves. So they should realize the quickest way to pique a child's curiosity about something is to tell him or her it's forbidden.

Saturday's event took place behind fences that were covered with black mesh to prevent prying eyes from seeing what was happening inside the barricaded area. That has the same practical effect as waving a red flag in front of a bull.

If parents don't want their kids to attend a gay pride event, the simplest solution seems to be not to take them to one. Trying to outlaw something only makes it seem cooler ― and thus worthy of further exploration.

I know some people in our community are worried about a supposed covert attempt to indoctrinate our children into a gay and/or transgender lifestyle. In response to a column I wrote about Sen. Gayle Harrell's unwillingness to speak up for the rights of transgender people even though she has a transgender daughter, a reader brought this matter to my attention.

He warned me Washington state is in the process of allowing minors to be castrated without parental consent, a U.N. council is allowing underage children to have consensual sex with adults, and Big Pharma and hospitals stand ready to profit from a sudden surge in castrations for underage patients.

It all sounds pretty far-fetched to me. Madness, if you will.

In my youth, I watched movies like "Tootsie," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and the "Pink Panther" film where the butler-in-drag plants a kiss on Peter Sellers. None of that influenced my sexual orientation, because my body and brain just aren't wired that way.

Even so, curious young minds are likely to pick up on some of this halter-top hysteria and start to wonder what all the fuss is about.

Our reactionary leaders may be bringing us ever closer to the very fate they're trying to avoid.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at bfontenay@gannett.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Restrictions at Port St. Lucie gay pride event put city on silly path