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A planned “child-friendly” drag queen show on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada has been canceled after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) demanded answers from Pentagon leaders as to why it was happening when they claimed they did not support them on bases.
Gaetz tweeted, “HUGE VICTORY: The Department of Defense has CANCELED a scheduled ‘child-friendly’ drag show after I demanded answers from @SecDef Austin and General Milley!”
HUGE VICTORY: The Department of Defense has CANCELED a scheduled “child-friendly” drag show after I demanded answers from @SecDef Austin and General Milley!
Drag shows should not be taking place on military installations with taxpayer dollars PERIOD!
READ:… https://t.co/YDByQihQod pic.twitter.com/vnJiuFlh2z
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 31, 2023
Breitbart News obtained a screenshot of a post by the Nellis LGBTQ+ Pride Council Facebook page, which stated:
The Nellis LGBTQ+ Pride Council is saddened to inform you that we are no longer able to host our annual Pride Month Drag Show on Nellis AFB. We have received notification that the DoD has directed Commanders not to host Drag events on military installations.
It then listed other Pride Month-related events on base that were not drag shows, including a panel, a “Paint with Pride” event, a color run at the base gym, a mixer, and a commemoration walk.
“We will continue to celebrate the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community during PRIDE month. Come show your PRIDE with us!” it said.
Back in March, Gaetz grilled Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley on whether they supported drag queen shows and drag queen story hours on military bases.
After they claimed not to be aware of them, Gaetz presented them with evidence, even handing Milley a packet of news articles on various drag queen events that had been hosted on military bases. Austin and Milley ultimately said they did not support the events on base.
“Drag queen story hours is not something that the Department funds,” Austin said at the time.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrive for a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the fiscal year 2023 defense budget, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
However, this month, Gaetz sent a letter to Austin and Milley that was also first reported by Breitbart News demanding answers as to why a drag show was planned at the Nellis Air Force Base for June 1.
According to NBC News, the show was approved by Air Force leaders, but Austin and Milley told the Air Force it is not DOD policy to fund drag shows on bases, and the show should be canceled or moved off base. Milley was reportedly “visibly angry” about the decision to host the event on base.
“Consistent with Secretary Austin’s congressional testimony, the Air Force will not host drag events at its installations or facilities. Commanders have been directed to either cancel or relocate these events to an off-base location,” an Air Force official told NBC News.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told NBC News, “Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-Federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment. As Secretary Austin has said, the DOD will not host drag events at U.S. military installations or facilities. Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources.”
Breitbart News first reported on the Nellis AFB’s drag queen show in June 2021, called “Drag-u-Nellis.”
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