Tennessee State Capitol – Photo: Ichabod, via Wikimedia.
A federal judge has ruled that a Tennessee law severely limiting drag shows in public or in establishments where children might see them is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Parker, of the Western District of Tennessee, found that the law, signed into effect by Republican Gov. Bill Lee in March, was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” infringing on the free speech rights of drag performers.
The law classifies drag performances as “adult cabaret performances,” similar to topless dancing, go-go dancing, exotic dancing, and stripping acts, and prohibits them from occurring on public property or in places where minors view them.
Violators may be prosecuted and punished with fines worth thousands of dollars, and prison sentences ranging from one to six years in prison, depending on the severity of the violation and whether it’s a first or subsequent offense.
The law was challenged by Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group. They argued that the law unfairly singles out drag performers from other types of “adult cabaret” performers and threatens only them with the risk of fines and jail time.
The group also argued that the law discriminates and restricts speech based on the identity of the speaker, rather than the actual content of the show in question.
Friends of George’s also noted that the law is difficult to enforce because it would restrict drag to only places where performers can be assured that a minor is not on the premises and will not be admitted, meaning that restaurants or establishments that host drag shows must either cancel the shows or refuse to admit minors, even to adjoining or nearby rooms, lest they be exposed to such performances.
“The [law] can criminalize — or at minimum chill — the expressive conduct of those who wish to impersonate a gender that is different from the one with which they were born in Shelby County,” Parker, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote in a 70-page ruling, referring to the county containing Memphis. “Such speech is protected by the First Amendment.”
Parker added that while the state may have a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors, the laws is neither the least restrictive nor most narrowly tailored way of achieving that without violating performers’ First Amendment rights, reports The Hill.
Right-wing groups, social conservatives, and Republican politicians have recently seized on drag shows as one of several new “wedge” issues, along with bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth, and prohibitions on transgender sports competitors, that seek to exploit the larger American public’s discomfort with gender-nonconformity for political gain ahead of the upcoming 2024 election.
This year, according to The Washington Post, at least 26 bills have been introduced in various states seeking to limit or severely restrict where drag performances can take place. Florida has a similar law in place, and Texas is poised to adopt a nearly identical statute once Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill into law.
For now, it appears that Parker’s ruling only applies to Shelby County, where the order blocks District Attorney General Steven Mulroy from attempting to enforce the ban. However, other jurisdictions have the option of filing similar lawsuits.
Initially, the lawsuit by Friends of George’s had also listed Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti as defendants. But the theater group eventually agreed not to pursue charges against either, instead seeking only to block Mulroy from penalizing the theater or its performers when they hold shows in Memphis.
Skrmetti has vowed to appeal Parker’s ruling at a later time.
Friends of George’s celebrated the ruling in a tweet on Saturday morning: “WE WON! Judge Parker has declared Tennessee’s anti-drag law unconstitutional! Friends of George’s would like to thank Brice Timmons and Melissa Stewart at Donati Law and all who have stood by us during this fight!”
According to the Post, members of the theater company were headed to a parade Saturday afternoon to mark the first weekend of Pride Month.
“While today is a moment worth celebrating as we kick off Pride month, our work is not finished,” the nonprofit organization said in a statement.
“As the onslaught of hatred against the LGBTQ+ community continues around the country through the passage of anti-trans, homophobic, and draconian laws that seek to silence expression and identity, we will remain vocal and vigilant.”
"I like to think of myself as a professional fan," says Tariq O'Meally. "So, I want people to love the things that I love too. And bringing them together around that is really exciting."
Not merely a fan, but a dancer, choreographer, educator, and, since June, Artistic Director at Dance Place, O'Meally has been bringing communities together for the Blacklight Summit, a nightlong celebration of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ dance, performance, art, and culture, since 2021.
"It initially started out a platform to present early-career, emerging BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ artists to give them a platform to share their work," he recalls. "There weren't a lot of resources fostering what I would believe the next generation of dance artists. So I used my position as guest curator and then artistic planning coordinator at the Clarice to start that."
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has overhauled its moderation policies to allow users to use anti-LGBTQ rhetoric or insult LGBTQ people in the name of "free speech."
Meta announced the change on January 7, noting that it was eliminating its third-party fact-checking system and replacing it with a user-based "Community Notes" model similar to the one employed by X.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg further announced the company would be relocating its content moderation teams from California to Texas to "help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content."
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly ordered the removal of tampons from men's bathrooms at the company's offices in California, New York, and Texas.
The tampons, initially included in men's bathrooms to cater to transgender or nonbinary employees who use such facilities, are one example of a deluge of virtue-signaling moves taken by Meta to placate conservatives as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
Last week, CEO Zuckerberg announced that Meta would eliminate its third-party fact-checking system and replace it with a user-based "Community Notes" feature similar to the model employed by X.
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