Drag PAC Fights for LGBTQ+ Rights in Congress

The organization includes famous faces like Jinkx Monsoon.

Jinkx Monsoon (Courtesy of Jinkx Monsoon)
By Andrew Jankowski

LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, especially those of trans people, as 47 of the more than 500 bills targeting them this year have been signed into law, according to the independent research organization Trans Legislation Tracker. Activists haven’t given up the cause, even after years of steady, vitriolic hate weaponized against them and drag queens by bigoted lawmakers. It’s no secret that coins must get spent to effect real change in D.C., and an all-star coalition of drag artists and organizers are putting their purses together to fight the good fight through a new political action committee.

Drag PAC (dragpac.org) was registered in March and announced in June, according to the group’s Federal Election Commission filings. Several RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni are poster children for Drag PAC, among them Portland-born superstar Jinkx Monsoon—who just headlined Portland’s LGBTQ+ Pride Festival, and has made record-breaking appearances in productions like Chicago, Doctor Who and Little Shop of Horrors—as well as her frequent Seattle-based collaborator, BenDeLaCreme, and onetime Portlander Monét X Change.

Drag PAC’s goals are to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ rights among Gen Z voters. Issues like access to gender-affirming health care, sports participation, and representation in library collections are among some of the most central to activists, as well as ending censorship of drag artists and strengthening civil liberties for trans people

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