TN: GOV WILL SIGN BILL OUTLAWING DRAG IN PUBLIC PLACES
<p><b>VIDEO WILL SHOW FILE OF GOVERNOR BILL LEE AND </b><b>FILE OF THE KNOXVILLE PRIDE PARADE, MENTIONED BELOW</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>#NEWS: TN / Governor will sign bill outlawing drag in public places, office says</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>From CNN’s Devon M. Sayers </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee plans to sign SB 3 if it comes to his desk, his office tells CNN.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>“The Governor is grateful to Leader Johnson and Leader Lamberth for their efforts to protect Tennessee children from obscenity. The Governor expects to sign the legislation, but as always, he will review the final legislation when it reaches his desk,” his spokeswoman Jade Byers said. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>CNN has reached back out to Knoxville Pride who said they have no additional comment. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Previous alert </p>\n<p>#News TN\Knox Pride Festival threatens to cancel if bill that could outlaw drag in public places becomes law </p>\n<p>From CNN’s Devon M. Sayers in Atlanta </p>\n<p>Approved Legal/ LoMonte</p>\n<p>Knox Pride, a free pride fundraiser held in Knoxville, Tennessee, has threatened to cancel their scheduled October event if a bill that could outlaw drag performances in public becomes law. </p>\n<p>The bill, SB 3, would make illegal “adult cabaret performances” on public property or a place where the “performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.” In the proposed law “adult cabaret performances” are performances that feature “topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers, regardless of whether or not performed for consideration,” according to the proposed law. </p>\n<p>The bill has been approved by the Tennessee House and is awaiting approval from the Republican controlled State Senate. If approved by the legislative body, the bill would require the governor to sign. Governor Bill Lee’s (R) office has not immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The bill sponsor says the bill is an effort to protect children in the state.</p>\n<p>“This legislation is about protecting children,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R) said in a press release last week, after the bill cleared subcommittees in the house. </p>\n<p>Last November when the legislation was introduced, Senator Johnson said that the bill was “aimed at protecting children from sexualized drag queen events.” </p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the senator said that the bill has been misinterpreted. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>“The bill does not ban drag shows in public. Under the bill, only performances that are overtly sexual would be age restricted. There has been a lot of inaccurate information claiming that the bill would ban drag shows or ban drag shows in public. The bill is specifically targeted at restricting sexually explicit performances,” Molly Gormley, Press Secretary for The Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus told CNN in an email. “If the bill passes, Knox Pride has no reason to cancel their parade or festivities, unless they plan on their entire event being made up of overtly sexual drag performances,” Gormley told CNN. </p>\n<p>“If this moves forward into law, the Knox Pride Festival, and potentially the Parade, would be against the law in the ways we have presented entertainment in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. You can no longer say you’re an ally if you are not helping us fight this,” John Camp the Executive Director of Knox Pride said in a press release. </p>\n<p>If the bill is signed and becomes law, first offense violators would face just under a year in jail and or a fine up to $2,500 dollars. Second offenses would be felonies and carry up to 6 years in prison and fines up to $3,000 dollars. </p>\n<p>Knox Pride is one of the largest free pride events in the south according to the originators. The annual event held in the state capitol draws an estimated 75 to 80 thousand people for the event. This year's festival is scheduled for October 6-8th. The festival says they are the largest fundraiser for a resource center operated by Knox Pride that supports the community with a food pantry, a clothing store, and support groups for the community. </p>\n<p>CNN’s Parent Company Warner Bros. Discovery is a sponsor of Knox Pride. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--TEASE--</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SUPERS</b>--</p>\n<p>File</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--VIDEO SHOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--LEAD IN</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--VO SCRIPT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SOT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--TAG</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--KEYWORD TAGS--</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--MUSIC INFO---</b></p>\n<p></p>