WASHINGTON — Talk about busting out new rules.
Ohio lawmakers behind an “anti-drag” bill aimed at protecting children from “indecent exposure” are fighting off accusations by lefty legal experts that it could result in women being barred from wearing bikinis or sports bras — or even going braless in public.
Last month, the state House passed the “Indecent Exposure Modernization Act,” also known as HB 249, to expand the legal definition of indecency with the intent of slapping criminal penalties on public drag shows and strip clubs that permit children to attend.
The bill bans people from knowingly exposing their private areas “with the purpose of personal sexual arousal or gratification or to lure the minor into sexual activity” when in “physical proximity” to individuals outside their household.
The wording of the bill led one law professor to claim women could be arrested for common activies.
“Under the act, women in Ohio would be at risk for arrest any time they wear a bikini swimsuit, halter top, or T-shirt without a bra,” Dan Kobil, who teaches constitutional law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, said in a recent op-ed for the Columbus Dispatch.
“The act replaces the definitional provision ‘private parts,’ with ‘private area,’ a term that makes criminally indecent female breasts ‘where nude or covered by an undergarment,’” he argued.
“Police could arrest any woman in public whose breasts they deem to be covered ‘only’ by ‘an undergarment.’”
LGBTQ activists have levied similar accusations about the bill, which passed 63–32, but still needs to clear the state Senate and get outgoing Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) signature to become law.
State Rep. Angie King (R), a primary sponsor of the bill, blasted those criticisms as the “peak of fear mongering.”
“HB 249 is about shielding kids from adult performances & imagery —not policing whether women wear bras, bikinis, or T-shirts,” she shot back.
“Twisting it into ‘women could be jailed for going braless’ isn’t just wrong—it’s a deliberate misrepresentation.
“It’s common sense to shield kids’ innocence from adult performances & imaginary. Nothing but perversion – twisting a bill that aims to protect the innocence of children into something it’s not.”
The Post reached out to King and state Rep. Josh Williams (R) for additional comment.
The text of the bill mentions nothing about bras or bikinis.
It does mention “adult cabaret” performers, including topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, those who appeal to a “prurient interest,” and entertainers “who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer’s or entertainer’s biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”
Other states, including Montana and Tennessee, have pursued similar legislation aimed at restricting drag performances from being shown to children due to outrage over drag queen story time.
King and other backers of the legislation have argued that it is necessary to keep drag shows and strip clubs limited to an adult audience.
