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Arkansas enacted Act 131 restricting 'adult-oriented performances' after narrowing an explicit drag ban

On February 24, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 43 into law as Act 131, adding a definition of "adult-oriented performance" to state code and barring such performances on public property, with public funds, or where minors are present. As introduced, the bill explicitly defined drag by reference to a performer's gender identity and classified it as a regulated adult-oriented business, but sponsors rewrote it twice to remove all references to drag and gender identity after opposition from LGBTQ advocates and the ACLU of Arkansas. The enacted content-based version reframed the restriction around nudity, prosthetic genitalia, and appeals to the "prurient interest."

Jurisdiction
Arkansas
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas

Abuses documented

Actors

On February 24, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 43 into law as Act 131 of 2023, adding a definition of "adult-oriented performance" to the Arkansas Code and restricting such performances on public property, when paid for with public funds, or where minors are admitted. The enacted statute defines an adult-oriented performance as one intended to appeal to the "prurient interest" that features nudity or the exposure of real or prosthetic breasts or genitalia [1][2].

As introduced by Sen. Gary Stubblefield and carried in the House by Rep. Mary Bentley, the bill explicitly defined "drag" by reference to a performer exhibiting "a gender identity that is different from the performer's gender assigned at birth" and would have classified drag as a regulated "adult-oriented business" — the same category as strip clubs and adult theaters, barred from operating near schools, parks, and libraries. After opposition from LGBTQ advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, who warned the language was broad enough to criminalize protected expression, the sponsors amended the bill twice to remove every reference to drag and gender identity and reframe it as a facially content-based restriction on sexual performances [3][4].

Bentley stated that the original, drag-specific version singled out expression by content and "would have to survive strict scrutiny," while the rewritten measure "targets all sexual performances, so it would not have to stand up to strict scrutiny" [3]. The final law signed by Sanders does not mention drag or gender identity, though sponsors and opponents alike described the practical target as drag performance; Arkansas was among several states where lawmakers advanced restrictions on drag shows during the 2023 session [4][5].

Why we recorded this

First Amendment protection for expressive performance is at stake: Arkansas enacted Act 131 of 2023, restricting "adult-oriented performances" on public property, with public funds, or where minors are present. The measure began as an explicit ban on drag defined by a performer's gender identity and was rewritten to strip those references after opponents warned it targeted protected expression; the House sponsor said the broadened content-based version was designed so the law would "not have to stand up to strict scrutiny." This archive records when government restricts constitutionally protected expression through content-based limits reached by narrowing an openly discriminatory original design.

Sources

  1. SB43 Bill Information — Arkansas State Legislature primary accessed July 16, 2026
  2. Act 131 of 2023 (enrolled text) — Arkansas State Legislature primary accessed July 16, 2026
  3. "Gutted" Arkansas bill no longer targets drag performers or LGBTQ community, activists say — Arkansas Advocate investigative accessed July 16, 2026
  4. Arkansas governor signs restrictions on 'adult' performances — Associated Press (via KAIT8) secondary accessed July 16, 2026
  5. Bill that initially targeted drag shows becomes Arkansas law — Arkansas Advocate secondary accessed July 16, 2026

See also