MISSOULA — A bill in the Montana Legislature is creating uncertainty as it could potentially open the city to lawsuits for events like Missoula's Pride Parade.
House Bill 675, sponsored by Rep. Caleb Hinkle, a R-Belgrade, would provide "a private right of action against drag king or drag queen performances or a person who promotes or conducts drag performance."
The bill would open up the potential for anyone who attends a drag performance to file a lawsuit up to three years past the date of the performance.
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City of Missoula officials say if the bill passes it would put Missoula's Pride Parade in jeopardy.
“It puts us in a difficult position because it makes us consider whether to issue permits that may run afoul of its requirements and I think that's what the mayor mentioned at City Council, Pride Parade that could be considered sort of supporting or endorsing one of the events that's prohibited by the bill,” said City Attorney for Civil Services Ryan Sudbury.
City officials also have concerns about the potential conflict with the First Amendment.
“First Amendment generally prohibits content-based restrictions on speech. So this would be a restriction based on whether the potential speech or activities that are going to go on during a parade or an event like Pride that need a city permit, whether they would have to review them against the contents of the bill. So we have to look at the potential speech and then make a decision whether we issue the permit based on that speech, which is generally not allowed under First Amendment jurisprudence,” said Sudbury.
Hinkle, the bill's sponsor, argues the legislation is about protecting children from "obscene content.”
“The main point of this bill is striking out the state enforcement regarding minors attending these highly sexual shows and instead adding in Section 1 a private right of action to allow the public to file lawsuits when a child is subjected to obscene content in public,” Hinkle said during the committee hearing.
Montana lawmakers passed legislation banning drag story events in public schools and libraries in 2023. That law is on hold pending a court case alleging that it violates the First Amendment rights of performers.
That case calls into question the legality of House Bill 675.
Hinkle did not respond to a request for comment.
