Trump Judge Blocks Tennessee Ban On Drag Shows

April 1, 2023 Christianists, Republicans

Reuters reports:

A federal judge in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday temporarily blocked a law restricting drag performances in public from going into effect, saying it was likely “vague and overly-broad” in its restriction of speech.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee [photo], a Republican, in February, had signed the bill passed by the state’s legislature that was meant to go into effect on Saturday. The bill aimed to restrict drag performances in public or in front of children, putting the state at the forefront of a Republican-led effort to limit drag in at least 15 states in recent months.

“At this point, the court finds that the statute is likely both vague and overly-broad,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, said in a ruling granting a temporary restraining order.

The New York Times reports:



A Memphis theater company that frequently stages drag performances, Friends of George’s, challenged the law this week, arguing that the ambiguity of the law violated the theater’s constitutional rights. Violators of the law would be charged with a misdemeanor, or a felony for continued offenses. The law makes no explicit mention of drag but forbids “adult cabaret” and performances on public property by topless, go-go or exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators that are “harmful to minors.”

In its suit, the theater company had highlighted the global history of drag performances, from the male actors who performed female roles in plays by William Shakespeare to American vaudeville productions. It also pointed to a successful effort by a Republican state legislator to restrict a drag performance at a Pride parade in Jackson, Tenn., last year, and noted that several organizations had already dropped plans to host drag events as part of Pride celebrations this year because of the law.

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