Proposed drag ban sees push back

A suggested ban on drag performances within the City of West Plains drew a large crowd at the August 19 city council meeting. One woman spoke in favor of a ban, and four others spoke against it. The city council did hear the first reads on three bills during the meeting, none of them pertaining to a drag ban. The crowd was roughly one-third ban supporters and two-thirds ban opponents. The meeting’s agenda was amended to include time for the opponents to speak. 

 

The first speaker was the woman in favor of the ban, Katherine Wiltse. She suggested the city institute a ban on drag performances akin to a Branson ordinance. Branson passed an ordinance on August 8, 2023, restricting drag shows to the downtown area and to venues that have held shows prior to the ordinance, but bans new locations. 

 

“What is really important about this ordinance is that it upholds the Constitution, and it does not ban drag shows nor would I come here to ask for that," she said. 

 

Wiltse handed packets of information on her proposed ban to the council members. She said a Supreme Court precedent establishes that decency is decided on a local level, citing the 1973 Miller v. California case. This case rules that obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment and that states may regulate it without violating these rights. Wiltse argued that drag performances are inherently sexual. She acknowledged the city’s existing municipal code that makes mimicking sexual acts in front of minors a misdemeanor offense. 

 

The four speakers opposing the ban were Scott Shipley, Cammie Storm, Stevie Miller, sitting chair of the West Plains Pride committee, and Corazon Hunter. 

 

Shipley spoke first and described his experience attending the West Plains Pride event in June with his nine-year-old son. 

 

“We have a chance, an opportunity, to make West Plains a beacon, and keep West Plains moving, and let everyone make it happen here with no preclusions, or we can be another symptom of the overall problem,” Shipley said. 

 

Mayor Mike Topliff, at that time, reminded the crowd to hold their outbursts on either side.

 

Storm urged the city council to pass an ordinance protecting drag shows and transgender individuals from discrimination, saying, “Drag bans are not only an attack on artistic expression but also an attempt to erase transgender people's existence in public spaces.” 

 

Miller, an occasional drag performer, gave some history on drag performances in the city.

 

“We have gone on how this has been a historic first for West Plains, and bringing a Pride celebration was indeed a first. However, I would like to retract any statements I made about this being the first drag show here,” said Miller, producing a 1932 West Plains Weekly Quill article showing members of the West Plains Service Club dressed in drag for a parade. According to Miller, the goal of a West Plains Pride event was not advocating for sexual deviancy, but a sense of community for a “heavily marginalized group of people.” 

 

Hunter named several comedy films in which dressing in drag is the plot, comparing drag shows to a Broadway, musical, or circus act. Hunter mentioned the performers at the June event in West Plains sang Disney songs and that the audience loved it.

 

“If we ban drag shows, it is only a matter of time before the seed of hate is planted and the LGBT community becomes even more vulnerable than it already is,” Hunter said.

 

Councilman Johnny Murrell asked the council at large if any member had notions to put forth changes in the ordinances to disallow the performances discussed. Mayor Topliff said he had not. City Administrator Sam Anselm said that he believed that existing laws were on the books regarding the activities of concern.

 

After the speakers, the council covered the first reads on four bills, Bill 4774, 4775, and 4776. The first is an ordinance vacating an excess right-of-way section along Mitchell Road. The city will retain a utility easement if the bill passes. Bill 4775 is an ordinance for increasing the property taxes in the city. This will raise the current property tax by $0.0009 to $0.3115 per one-hundred dollars of assessed valuation and increase city revenue by $4,000. The final bill, 4776, authorizes the city administrator to execute an agreement with Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for enhancement funds for a sidewalk on Bruce Smith Parkway.