A federal district judge ruled that a Tennessee law restricting drag shows in places where children could view them was vague and overbroad and a violation of the drag performers’ First Amendment rights. Some 26 similar bills have been introduced this year in state legislatures. (Politico, June 3, 2023, by Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing)
Judge Thomas Parker, appointed by former President Donald Trump, said the law was a content restriction on free speech. The Tennessee attorney general said the law was narrowly tailored to protect minors from explicit sexual content. (CNN, June 3, 2023, by Sidney Kashiwagi)
In his blog, Jonathan Turley, June 4, 2023, writes that the Supreme Court has long ruled that the First Amendment protects expressive conduct including dance. Turley quotes Parker’s opinion, “Regardless of the Tennessee General Assembly’s intentions, the AEA’s [Adult Entertainment Act] text criminalizes performances that are ‘harmful to minors”’by ‘male or female impersonators,’ and the Court must grapple with that text. The Court finds that this phrase discriminates against the viewpoint of gender identity—particularly, those who wish to impersonate a gender that is different from the one with which they are born.”