A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a ban on public drag show performances, hours before the new law was set to take effect.
US District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker issued an order delaying enforcement of the measure for at least 14 days as he considers whether the ban is unconstitutional.
“At this point, the Court finds that the Statute is likely both vague and overly-broad,” Parker wrote in the order, adding that the state has so far failed to provide a “compelling government interest” for why it should regulate drag performances so severely.
The legislation – signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee earlier this month – seeks to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public property so as to shield them from the view of children, threatening violators with a misdemeanor and repeat offenders with a felony. The ban specifically includes “male or female impersonators” who perform in a way that is “harmful to minors.” It was set to go into effect April 1.
The plaintiff – a Memphis-based theater company called Friends of George’s, which includes drag performers – has alleged that the state has sought to “explicitly restrict or chill speech and expression protected by the First Amendment based on its content, its message, and its messenger.” The law, they argued, “targets the performers themselves, unlawfully restricting their expressive conduct not only within the confines of heavily-regulated adult-oriented establishments, but virtually anywhere,” according to the judge’s order.
The state has argued the measure is not a full ban and is only intended to stop overtly sexual performances in front of minors.
But Parker wrote that “given the Defendants’ lack of a clear answer to the Statute’s purpose considering current state obscenity laws, along with the…
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