The bill targets events like family-friendly brunch shows at restaurants or drag queen story time events at libraries or other family-oriented drag queen events. The bill says that people who sue a person or venue can be awarded $5,000 in damages.
Erin Reed, a transgender rights activist and independent reporter, tweeted about HB 4378 on Saturday, March 11, saying that the piece of legislation could easily be used to target transgender people who perform.
The bill defines drag as “a performance in which a performer exhibits a gender that is different than the performer’s gender recorded at birth.” It goes on to say this performance can involve using makeup and clothing to dance, lip sync, or perform “in a lascivious manner.”
The bill joins 17 other proposed pieces of Texas legislation that targets transgender people, drag queens, and the LGBTQ+ community. The Advocate reported in November 2022 that Texas legislators have proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bills for the upcoming legislative session. This now includes HB 4378 and the recent heterosexual tax cut bill from state Rep. Bryan Slaton.
That proposed bill would provide massive tax cuts, up to 100%, for straight families that stay married and have children. Slaton also pushed a bill that would have outlawed minors at drag shows.