Local activist group Protect Texas Kids has been protesting “kid-friendly” drag shows in North Texas for more than a year, prompting fierce backlash from left-wing critics.
Despite this pushback, Protect Texas Kids (PTK) has seen notable successes. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas canceled a “Puberty and Periods” party for Dallas-area 4th and 5th graders following protests organized by PTK.
“Lately, we’ve had a lot of events getting canceled that we’ve been protesting or planning to protest,” executive director Kelly Neidert said in a recent interview with The Dallas Express. “The pushback that we get from the left and the hate that we get from a lot of the media, to me, also proves that we’re being effective.”
Neidert’s apartment door was allegedly spray-painted with an obscene message by members of Antifa, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. She has previously claimed that armed members of Antifa have shown up to intimidate Protect Texas Kids because the organization protests “kid-friendly” drag shows.
“I’ve definitely had a lot of safety concerns with people just getting upset and thinking that it’s okay to make threats and attempt to get physical just because they disagree with Protect Texas Kids,” she said. “I’ve definitely also had a lot of people attack me online and put out my personal information and try to go after my family members.”
Neidert said that while these attacks can be troublesome, the pushback reassures her that her mission is worthwhile.
“No matter what those people do and no matter how crazy they act, I know that I’m doing the right thing,” she said. “At the end of the day, I know that I’m fighting to protect kids, and there’s a lot of people fighting with me.”
She said the results the group has seen are encouraging, pointing to laws passed during this year’s legislative session and the cancellation of events PTK felt would expose children to sexually explicit content.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” she added. “There’s still a lot more [legislation] that we need to get passed. But when we do get a victory, it’s very motivating.”
Another of these claimed victories was the passage of Senate Bill 12, which prohibits “sexually oriented performance[s] … in the presence of an individual younger than 18 years of age.”
SB 12 was signed into law by Gov. Abbott on June 18 and will go into effect on September 1.
However, Neidert added that there are still “loopholes” in the legislation that must be closed.
“It’s not really going to ban [children] from attending all drag shows,” she said. “So we’re still going to be out protesting, and our goal is to get as many of those shut down as we can or at least get those shows to add an age restriction.”
As The Dallas Express recently reported, Anderson Distillery and Grill closed its Roanoke location this month, choosing to move to Denton one year after PTK demonstrations drew public attention to the business’ hosting of a “Barrel Babes Drag Brunch” with multiple children in attendance.
