Tennessee became the first state in the country to restrict public drag performances on Thursday
public drag performances on Thursday. Republican Gov. Bill Lee also signed legislation banning minors from receiving gender-affirming care and prohibiting surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender youth.in a 1977 high-school yearbook photo, promised to sign the measure, which restricts “adult cabaret entertainment” in public spaces or locations where it might be seen by minors.
Some in the legal profession question the ability of the new law to be enforced. Obscenity law already covers nudity and sexual conduct around minors, and no one seems to be aware of any past instance where a“I don’t know that this new law creates any new criminal behavior,” says criminal defense attorney Bryan Stephenson, who hasto represent pro bono anyone arrested in violation of this law. “Looking at our obscenity statute, we already have a definition of ‘harmful to minors.
That uncertainty about what, if anything, will be affected and policed for being “harmful” might in fact be the point. Not having a clear definition of where the line is drawn could frighten people into obedience. “Maybe the law actually does something more than create a new definition of obscenity,” says Tom Lee, attorney for the Tennessee Pride Chamber. “Maybe what this law does is that it blurs the line so completely that people don’t know where it is anymore and will be afraid to come anywhere near it for fear of crossing over it without knowing.”
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