On Friday, a federal judge in Tennessee temporarily stopped the state’s new legislation that criminalizes drag performances hours before its effective date.
Judge Thomas Parker used constitutional protections for freedom of speech to issue a temporary restraining or.
Parker wrote that Tennessee must exercise its police power to restrict speech it considers obscene.
“The Court finds that the record suggests that the legislature failed to meet the mark when it passed this Statute as it stands,” he wrote.
Gov. The bill was signed into law by Bill Lee (a Republican) on March 2. It went into effect on Saturday.
The first-of-its kind law prohibits “adult cabaret entertainment on public property” or in areas where it could possibly be viewed by minors.
Sometimes, the law is referred to by others as a drag ban.
Friends of George’s, Inc., a Memphis-based LGBTQ theatre company, sued over the law, calling it unconstitutional.
The theater group claims that the law could force a troupe of theatre artists into a nightclub because Tennessee legislators feel they have the right make their own opinions on drag into law. “Plaintiff has the option to continue as planned, even though Friends of George’s drag performers may face criminal or felony charges.”
The law protects children from inappropriate entertainment, according to supporters.
The requests for comment from Friday night were not immediately answered by the state attorney general’s office and a lawyer representing Lee and Tennessee in this lawsuit.
Friends of George’s Tweet that the restraining orders were the first step in an ongoing struggle.
“We won because it is a bad statute,” Mark Campbell, the president of Friends of George’s’ board of directors, stated in a statement. He stated that the group is looking forward to its day at court.
