The move became public after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley stepped in to stop a drag show at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., which had been scheduled for Thursday.
In enforcing the ban, which stems from a longstanding Defense Department policy that has not always been applied, critics say the Pentagon appears to have acquiesced to GOP pressure in recent months to cancel those performances at military installations.
Republican lawmakers, in hearings and letters to the Defense Department, have raged over drag shows and diversity programs, which they claim hurt recruiting efforts and compromise warfighting.
LGBTQ-rights groups have slammed the apparent shift from the Pentagon, noting the U.S. has a long history of supporting drag shows going back to at least World War I.
Kelley Robinson, the president of Human Rights Campaign, said Austin has been “unwavering” in supporting LGBTQ+ groups, but by banning drag shows, he “chose to side with the politics of fear and discrimination peddled by extreme members of Congress.”
The GOP has beamed with approval over the news this week and appears emboldened to press the issue further.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was “glad the Pentagon has made clear this shouldn’t be allowed.”
The enforcement first came to light after NBC News reported on the drag show cancellation at Nellis AFB. The Air Force pointed to recent congressional testimony from Austin in explaining the scrapped plans — the defense chief said drag events are “not something that the department funds.”
Citing a policy on standards of conduct and ethics regulation, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said this week “certain criteria” must be met for non-government individuals and organizations using Defense Department facilities and equipment.
“Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is inconsistent with regulations regarding the use of DoD resources,” she said in a statement regarding the Nellis Air Force Base drag show cancellation.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
