A federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional.
A federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional.
The Memphis-based Friends of George’s filed the complaint in March, saying the law would negatively impact them because they produce “drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays” with no age restrictions. Tennessee's Republican-dominated Legislature advanced the anti-drag law earlier this year, with several GOP members pointing to drag performances in their hometowns as reasons why it was necessary to restrict such performances from taking place in public or where children could view them.
Lee quickly signed off on the statute and it was set to take effect April 1. However, to date, the law has never been enforced because Parker sided with the group that filed the lawsuit challenging the statute in March and temporarily blocked the law. According to the complaint, Republican state Rep. Chris Todd and Republican state Sen. Ed Jackson helped lead an effort last year to block a drag show at a park in Jackson, west of Nashville, as part of a Pride festival. Todd later confirmed that he had not seen the performance, but nevertheless pursued legal action to stop the show. Organizers eventually reached a settlement to hold the event indoors with an age restriction.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump-appointed federal judge rejects Tennessee’s anti-drag law as too broad, too vagueA federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional.
Read more »
Trump-appointed federal judge rejects Tennessee's anti-drag law as too broad, too vagueA federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional
Read more »
Trump-appointed federal judge rejects Tennessee's anti-drag law as too broad, too vagueA federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional. In a 70-page ruling handed down late Friday night, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker wrote that the law was both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad” and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” The Memphis-based Friends of George’s filed the complaint, saying the law would negatively impact them because they produce “drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays” with no age restrictions. The Tennessee drag law marks the second major proposal targeting LGBTQ+ people passed by state lawmakers this year. Earlier, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a GOP-backed law that bans most gender-affirming care, which is being challenged in court.
Read more »
Trump-Appointed Judge Rules Tennessee’s Drag Ban UnconstitutionalThe bill—signed by Gov. Bill Lee in March—prohibits any public “adult cabaret performance.”
Read more »
Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Tennessee's Anti-Drag Law As 'Unconstitutionally Vague'A federal judge says Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional.
Read more »
Trump-appointed federal judge rejects Tennessee’s anti-drag law as too broad, too vagueThe judge wrote that the law was both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad” in a 70-page ruling handed down Friday night.
Read more »