A new video out of Soldotna shows what every sensible parent feared: burlesque performers at a public Pride event were caught on camera motioning children to the front of the stage and one performer appeared to bend over in a way that looked intentionally provocative. The footage, obtained through a records request, makes it impossible to claim this is all just harmless entertainment; taxpayers paid for that stage and parents deserve better.
Local officials tried to say rules were followed, but community outrage is real and justified when performers put on acts that resemble near-nudity in a public park filled with families. This isn’t an isolated gripe — similar controversies have popped up around the country where liberal officials look the other way while ordinary people raise alarms.
In Florida, state agents even sent undercover investigators to a holiday drag show in Orlando, only to report that they did not observe lewd acts, a finding the left will trumpet as evidence of hysteria. Conservatives should welcome clear-eyed investigations, but they shouldn’t be used as a pretext for ignoring the pattern of sexualized performances being normalized in public venues where kids are present.
When authorities did find troubling conduct, Florida didn’t shrug — a hotel was fined after minors attended a performance the state said crossed the line, and lawmakers moved to tighten protections for children with the Protection of Children Act. That law is exactly the kind of common-sense response Americans should expect: protect minors first, and leave adult entertainment to properly controlled venues.
Across statehouses, including in Ohio, Republican lawmakers are pushing changes to indecent exposure laws and definitions of adult cabaret to make clear that sexualized performances in front of minors will not be tolerated. These bills face pushback from activists and media outlets, but lawmakers owe it to parents to close loopholes that have allowed genuinely obscene acts to be defended as art.
Meanwhile, national fact checks show the conversation can be messy — some viral claims about individual incidents have been exaggerated or misreported, which only underscores the need for sober investigation and for parents to demand transparency. Conservatives should fight both for protecting children and for truth, calling out media spin while pushing for laws that put families first.
This is a cultural moment: hardworking Americans must decide whether we continue to tolerate the sexualization of public spaces or whether we reclaim our communities for families and decent values. Don’t wait for elected officials to act on their own — show up at school boards, city meetings, and state capitols and tell them protecting children is not negotiable.
