Texas state lawmaker says he will propose bill to protect children from being exposed to drag queen performances

Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton has pledged to put forward legislation to protect children from being exposed to drag queen performances.

On Saturday, the Mr. Misster bar in Dallas held a drag event that had been advertised as "fit for guests of all ages." Disturbing video footage shows that children were present at the event.

"Mr. Misster's Drag The Kids To Pride Drag Show provides the ultimate family friendly pride experience. This signature event is a family friendly spin off of our famed Champagne Drag Brunch, with our resident DJ Charlie Phresh playing some of your favorite hits while host Nicole O'Hara Munro brings together some of the best drag entertainers around!" a description on Eventbrite stated.

In a statement, Slaton said, "The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children. As a father of two young children, I would never take my children to a drag show and I know [Texas House] Speaker Dade Phelan and the rest of my Republican colleagues wouldn't either. Protecting our own children isn't enough, and our responsibility as lawmakers extends to the sexualization that is happening across Texas."

"I promised my voters that I would stand up for their values and fight to protect Texas kids. I was re-elected on that promise and I intend to keep it by authoring legislation to defend kids from being subjected to drag shows and other inappropriate events. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important legislation," Slaton said.

Democratic state Rep. Jessica González responded on Twitter, taking issue with the proposal and calling for gun control.

"This isn't about protecting children, it's about further censoring the LGBTQ+ community and taking more rights away from parents. Let's actually protect children by passing common-sense gun control," González tweeted.

Last month, a deadly shooting perpetrated at a school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two teachers dead.

"It's sad that this is an apparent priority in a state where 19 children were just murdered," NBC Los Angeles reporter Alex Rozier tweeted in response to Slaton's post.