Judge rules Tennessee drag law violating ban on performances

A federal judge has ruled that Tennessee's law restricting drag performances in public or where children were present violated, causing a stir in the efforts in the U.S. to regulate LGBTQ conduct.

In February, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill passed by the state assembly that aimed to restrict drag performances, putting the state on the forefront of a Republican-led effort to limit drag in at least 15 states in recent months.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, ruled Friday that the law was unconstitutionally vague and significantly overbroad. The First Amendment to the Constitution commands that laws infringing on freedom of speech must be narrow and well defined, Parker said in a 70-page ruling.

The Supreme Court has never held that sexually explicit - but not obscene - speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech, Parker said.

Under the law, offenders could face fines and up to a year in prison and repeat offenders could have faced prison sentences of up to six years.

Republicans have enacted more than 500 bills this year governing the conduct of gay and transgender individuals, including what can be taught in schools, and medical care. At least 48 of those have passed, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group.

On March 31, Parker temporarily blocked the bill, siding with Friends of George s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group that filed suit against the state.

GLAAD, an LGBTQ activist group, commended Parker's decision. This ruling is a turning point and we will not go back, GLAAD said in a statement.

Every elected official in the U.S. elected office is aware that these baseless laws will not stand and that our constitutional freedom of speech and expression protects everyone and propels our culture forward, the group said.