As a parent, I am not worried about my children seeing a drag show. I am not worried about a drag queen or king surprising them at school; that won’t happen, but I would not mind if it did. Creativity, authenticity, artistic expression, and inclusivity are all things I would love for everyone’s children to have more of in school. Fear and bad mental health are things I would love for everyone’s children to have less of in school.

The underlying issue with the legislative proposal that would ban minors from attending drag shows and the proposal to ban certain gender-affirming medical care for minors is the pernicious idea that kids (and adults) don’t know who we are. These government overreaches tell people of all ages that their authentic selves should not only be ignored, but actively coerced into following narrow definitions of being straight and binary.

Nobody gets “confused” about their gender from seeing drag. It is an insult to the public, and especially those of us who are parents, to imply that this is a realistic possibility.  The fact that this is part of an external campaign targeting queer people, driven by deep pocketed right-wing extremist groups rather than native Nebraskans, is a clear sign that these efforts do not belong in Nebraska.

I’m not worried at all about drag. I am very worried as a parent that one of my children might get shot in a surprise assault at school. I worry someone else will lose their child at a store, or at church, or at a festival. We are plagued with gun violence, and our politicians are collectively unmoved by the wrenching cries of parents or the hollow stares of survivors.

I remain haunted by the testimony of Uvalde pediatrician Dr. Roy Guerrero. What he saw when he went in to identify the bodies of little children after that shooting is something no family, no doctor, and no human being should ever have to experience. I do not want to hear any politicians ignoring gun violence trying to distract us by saying someone in gaudy makeup is a threat to my children after reading what an assault rifle did to those children. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

I challenge dishonest politicians pushing “drag queens are a threat” narratives to find even one case of a drag queen assaulting a child. The only example of a violent drag queen I am aware of is the one who helped the decorated Army veteran who heroically charged and subdued the active shooter in Colorado Springs.

Let me also address the sadly predictable turn in extremist media that trans people are a threat because the Nashville murderer may have identified as trans. If that is at all relevant, it must also be relevant that 96% of 340 mass shootings since 2006 involved a cisgender man.

Extreme media personalities and politicians don’t mention that, though. They just keep taking the NRA’s blood money and telling men like me that I am myself weak or foolish or unmanly if I do not buy an AR-15 with a 30-round magazine “for defense.”

If we really wanted to protect children, we would start with gun safety. Legislative attacks on queer and trans people are sweeping the nation, while any notion of reducing literal violent murders is a nonstarter. This says very poor things about what far too many politicians really value.

I will close by saying that any politician who agrees with Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett’s callous “We’re not gonna fix it” statement needs to resign immediately so that real efforts to keep all our children safe can proceed. Ban assault weapons, not drag shows. Hold real pedophiles and their enabling organizations accountable, as identified by the Nebraska attorney general and many others.

Stop spreading lies and hate. Stop weapons of war destroying the bodies and minds of our children, not medical professionals providing expert and compassionate care. Our children deserve so much better than this here in Nebraska and all across the United States.