A Trump-appointed federal judge late Friday declared Tennessee’s new law restricting drag performances unconstitutional and halted its enforcement in Shelby County, where the case originated.
Judge Thomas Parker wrote that any restrictions on the First Amendment should be “narrow and well-defined” and that the drag law “is neither.”
The judge also blanched at the state’s defense of the law and warned lawmakers about “their troubling trend of abdicating their responsibilities in exercising ‘considered legislative judgment.’”
Parker previously issued a temporary order halting enforcement of the law as it was set to go into effect in April. His new order specifies only that it should not be enforced in Shelby County.
The law was a priority for Tennessee Republicans this session, with Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) filing the bill the day after he won reelection.
LGBTQ groups protested the push, which was echoed in other states. Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, said last year that it was an effort to “put us behind closed doors.”
The legislation aims to prohibit “male or female impersonators” from performing "adult" material either on public property or where the performance “could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.” Critics argued that was overly broad and could be used to criminalize a wide variety of behaviors or mere existence.
Read the ruling below:
