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Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB 359 banning drag story hours and restricting drag performances before minors

On May 22, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 359 into law, banning "drag story hours" at state-funded schools and libraries and restricting "sexually oriented performances" in front of minors on public property or at businesses. The law defines a covered drag performer by a "flamboyant or parodic" persona and "glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup," and imposes an outright ban at any location receiving state funding. It was sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, and heavily amended before passage.

Jurisdiction
Montana
Location
Helena, Montana

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 22, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 359 into law, placing new criminal restrictions on drag performances across the state. The law prohibits schools and libraries that receive state funding from hosting "drag story hours" during operating hours or sponsored extracurricular activities, and it bans "sexually oriented performances" in front of minors on public property or at businesses, with an outright ban at any location that receives state funding.

HB 359 defines a "drag story hour" performer as someone with a "flamboyant or parodic" persona and "glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup" who reads to or does learning activities with children present, and defines "sexually oriented" broadly to include "stripping, salacious dancing," and any "lewd or lascivious depiction or description." Sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, the bill was extensively amended throughout the 2023 session before passage. A spokesperson for Gianforte said the governor believed it "wildly inappropriate" for young children to be exposed to "highly sexualized content," while drag performers and civil-liberties advocates said the measure targeted LGBTQ+ expression and rested on a misunderstanding of drag.

Updates

2023-07-06 — Coalition challenged HB 359 in federal court [4]

A coalition of ten plaintiffs, ranging from a public school teacher to a brewery, filed a federal lawsuit in Butte challenging HB 359 as an unconstitutional restriction on protected expression, naming Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and other state officials as defendants.

2026-03-14 — Ninth Circuit affirmed injunction blocking HB 359 [5]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed a federal district court's preliminary injunction against HB 359, holding in a 97-page opinion that the law was likely an unconstitutional content-based restriction on First Amendment-protected speech.

Why we recorded this

First Amendment protection of expression bars the government from suppressing performance and art based on its content or viewpoint. Montana enacted a law criminalizing "drag story hours" and drag-adjacent performances, defining the prohibited conduct by a performer's persona and costume rather than any content-neutral standard. This archive records when a government restricts constitutionally protected expression by singling out a disfavored form of speech, a restriction federal courts found likely unconstitutional.

Sources

  1. Gianforte signs bill banning drag story hours at schools, libraries — KTVH primary accessed July 16, 2026
  2. Gianforte signs ban on drag story hours in public schools and libraries — Montana Free Press investigative accessed July 16, 2026
  3. Montana governor signs bill banning drag performers from reading to children in public schools, libraries — CNN secondary accessed July 16, 2026
  4. Groups challenge Montana's 'drag ban' in federal court — Idaho Capital Sun investigative accessed July 16, 2026
  5. Federal appeals court upholds injunction against Montana's drag ban — Daily Montanan investigative accessed July 16, 2026

See also