Rep. Chris Jeter declined to say whether his amendment was aimed at drag queen story times. He is shown speaking with a colleague in the House chamber on Thursday, Jan. 9. Photo from Indiana House Republicans.

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday, March 19, chose not to strip key provisions from legislation tightening handling of child sex abuse materials — yet — but did add a ban on any government-funded “obscene performance.”

The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code also moved a proposal allowing unelected officials convicted of official misconduct a path toward expungement.

Senate Bill 326’s original purpose was replacing use of the phrase “child pornography” throughout Indiana Code with “child sex abuse material.”

“Whether you believe it’s right or wrong, (pornography) is legal. It exists in our society. That’s not what these images are,” said Courtney Curtis, of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. “In these images, these children are being molested. They are being sexually abused. We should call it that.”

The measure would also require Indiana Department of Child Services employees, school employees and attorneys to “immediately” notify law enforcement about such materials and avoid file transfers to avoid prosecution — prompting concerns among committee members.

Curtis said those changes would bring Indiana Code up to federal standards.

She described observing the misalignment firsthand while working for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Team.

“There was a high school in Indianapolis where, instead of calling law enforcement or calling DCS, they called their attorney in order to protect the teacher,” Curtis said. “And their attorney took the laptop, took it to the law firm, did not report, uploaded the material onto the mainframe. That is a federal crime.”

Committee members, however, feared the language would ensnare well-meaning parents and professionals. They considered an amendment to delete it.

Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, told members that he’d rather they kill his bill instead of stripping out a core provision that mimics federal law. They relented, agreeing to instead make any fixes on the House floor.

Courtney Curtis, of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, testifies in committee on Wednesday, March 19. Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

The committee accepted other changes, however — including a possible attempt to bar drag performers from reading children’s stories in public libraries or schools.

An amendment from Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, specifies that a government entity can’t organize or use public money to fund “an obscene performance.” It was adopted through a voice vote, over Democrats’ opposition.

When asked if he was trying to ban drag story times, Jeter told Indiana Public Broadcasting, “I’m trying to ban any obscene performance, as it’s defined in the code … because, by definition, they’re harmful. Because it’s a crime.”

“I’ve heard about it in other places and seen some things in other states,” Jeter continued, describing them as “performances that are sexual in nature” and “that are not appropriate for minors.”

He demurred when asked again about drag story times, saying, “It’s tough for me to apply the law to a specific fact pattern you’re giving me because I don’t know. We’re relying on … communities to look at the definition and decide whether … it actually is obscene.”

Obscenity comes with high standards.

To qualify under Indiana law, materials or performance must, as a whole:

• Describe or represent nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse.
• Appeal to the prurient interest in sex of minors.
• Be patently offensive to prevailing standards of what’s appropriate for minors.
• And lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

“This is a do-nothing amendment,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, because the bar is so high. But, he argued, it “suggests that we think that people are (putting on obscene performances), which I think is an affront to anyone who’s running a governmental entity in this state.”

Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, said he believed the amendment’s intent is “a chilling effect on performances that people personally don’t like.”

Senate Bill 326 advanced on a unanimous, 13-0 vote.