Florida Rep. Randy Fine defends his anti-drag bill as his wife prepares to host children’s charity event promoted as ‘sultry.’ (Screenshot from Florida Voice’s Twitter)
Florida Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Brevard County who filed a bill looking to criminalize drag performances in the state, appears to be sponsoring an upcoming event benefiting a children’s charity that involves “sultry” burlesque performances.
The event, a fundraising gala for Spring Forward for Autism, will take place at the Hilton Melbourne hotel April 15 and is co-hosted by the representative’s wife, Wendy Fine. Randy Fine is listed on the organization’s website as one of its sponsors. The website describes the event as “an evening filled with sultry performers” but does not indicate that the event is for adults only. According to the website TheSpaceCoastRocket.com, a video of a previous year’s event was taken down by YouTube for “violating its terms and policies” and “[a]ccording to some who attended the event, there were members of the audience under the age of 18 believed to be special needs. A toddler can be seen in a video from last year’s event.”
Images of the representative’s wife and other women dressed in burlesque attire from the event’s previous years appeared on the The Space Coast Rocket’s website.
Under Randy Fine’s legislation, House Bill 1423 — “Protection of Children” — would authorize the Department of Business and Professional Regulation “to fine, suspend or revoke the license of any public lodging establishment or public food service establishment that admits a child to an adult live performance.”
“Adult live performance” is defined in the bill as “any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, specific sexual activities … lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”
Attempting to defend his bill during a state legislative committee hearing April 12, Randy Fine said “If it means erasing a community because you have to target children then damn right we ought to do it!”
NBC News attempted to call Wendy Fine for comment on the event and its forms of entertainment, writing “[w]hen NBC News called Wendy Fine seeking comment, she said she was dialing in her husband, who could then be heard telling her, ‘Just hang up.’ Neither Fine nor his wife responded to subsequent requests for comment.”
Speaking with Insider, Randy Fine stated that he had been to the event several times and cannot remember a child ever being there, adding “It isn’t an inexpensive ticket and isn’t billed as family friendly.”
When asked by Insider if his wife’s event would break the law under his proposed bill, Randy Fine told them “To qualify as an ‘adult live performance’ under the proposed law, an event has to meet many criteria and without knowing exactly what they are doing, I can’t answer your question.”
He added “That said, whether this law passes or not, I would agree that children should not be invited to an event involving ‘sultry performers.'”
Randy Fine has a history of being anti-LGBTQ and attacking drag performers in particular. The representative attacked Space Coast Pride last year on social media over a Drag Queen Story Time event the organization was hosting, calling on Melbourne’s city manager to pull the permit for the event. The event went on as planned with the support of Melbourne’s mayor, Paul Alfrey.
