US EditionIowa ACLU Sends Letters to Cities Calling for Removal of Drag Restrictions
- On Wednesday, the ACLU of Iowa contacted five city councils, urging them to amend ordinances that categorize drag performances as adult entertainment.
- This action follows earlier efforts, including a failed 2025 statewide bill banning minors at drag shows and a 2022 Eagle Grove enforcement that halted a drag performance under similar ordinances.
- The ACLU contends that these ordinances target LGBTQ expression by broadly labeling drag shows as adult entertainment regardless of their content or intent.
- Staff attorney Shefali Aurora pointed out that the municipal codes treat drag as adult entertainment, which results in a broad prohibition of drag performances in these cities, despite many drag acts being nonsexual and safeguarded by the First Amendment.
- The ACLU is encouraging all Iowa cities to review and remove such restrictive language, highlighting risks of unconstitutional censorship and discrimination against LGBTQ people.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Iowa ACLU sends letter to Mount Pleasant Council, others, calling for removal of drag restrictions
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sent letters Wednesday to five Iowa city councils calling for a change to local statutes that classify “female impersonators” and “male impersonators” as adult entertainment, saying such measures are unconstitutional.
Ottumwa Courier
Iowa ACLU sends letters to cities calling for removal of drag restrictions
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sent letters Wednesday to five Iowa city councils calling for a change to local statutes that classify “female impersonators” and “male impersonators” as adult entertainment, saying such measures are unconstitutional.
Iowa ACLU tells five cities their drag ordinances are unconstitutional - Radio Iowa
The Iowa ACLU is going after another group of cities it says are violating free speech with their ordinances regulating drag performances. ACLU attorney Shefali Aurora says they’ve sent letters to Mount Pleasant, Harlan, Carroll, Webster City, and Polk City, notifying them of their ordinances that unconstitutionally restrict drag. Aurora says they want the cities […]
Iowa ACLU sends letters to cities calling for removal of drag restrictions • Iowa Capital Dispatch
Students got signatures and pictures with drag queens who spoke at Iowa Safe Schools' Annual Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth April 28, 2023 at Prairie Meadows in Altoona. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sent letters Wednesday to five Iowa city councils calling for a change to local statutes that classify “female impersonators” and “male impersonators” as adult entertainment, saying suc…
ACLU Accuses Small Towns of Trampling Over the First Amendment
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