(RightWing.org) – A Florida music venue faces losing its liquor license after it hosted a drag show — and others could suffer the same fate if they allow kids to see the controversial performances. Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has sworn to protect the state’s children from inappropriate shows, which Liberals are backing heavily. Now he’s reaching for a powerful tool to make venues comply — by hitting them in the pocketbook.
DeSantis admin moves to revoke liquor license of venue which allowed kids to see ‘sexual’ drag show https://t.co/FtizbrXarU pic.twitter.com/YVj7FxyeCd
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) February 5, 2023
On December 28, 2022, a music venue operated by the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, The Plaza Live, hosted “A Drag Queen Christmas” — and children as young as six years old were allowed in to see it, despite it containing inappropriate sexual content. Last summer, DeSantis warned that any venue that let children watch adult-themed shows would be held accountable. Last week he followed through on that warning when the alcohol department of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) filed suit against the Plaza Foundation.
According to the suit, the Foundation promoted the drag show as suitable for all ages and didn’t warn that it was sexually explicit. Despite DeSantis’s July 2022 warning and a later, explicit one sent directly to the venue by the DBPR, The Plaza Live allowed children to attend the show.
DeSantis and the DBPR want the Plaza Foundation’s liquor license revoked, arguing that because the venue broke state law by allowing “lewd or lascivious exhibition” in the presence of minors, the state government has the authority to take away its license. For a music venue, that’s a serious blow — but they were warned months in advance and decided to go ahead anyway. DeSantis isn’t likely to let them get away with that.
The governor’s press secretary spoke to journalists on February 3 and said his boss “stands to protect the innocence of children,” and if he says he’s going to do something, he gets it done. If The Plaza Live thought it could call his bluff on this issue, it made a serious mistake.
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