NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥 A federal appeals court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows, reversing a lower court ruling that deemed the statute unconstitutional and blocked its enforcement in part of the state.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater company that filed the complaint last year lacked the legal right to sue over the law.
Friends of George's had alleged that the law would negatively affect them because they produce 鈥渄rag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays鈥 with no age restrictions.
However, the federal appeals court found that Friends of George's was not at risk of violating the 2023 law because its performances were not 鈥渉armful to minors.鈥
Tennessee鈥檚 Republican-dominated Legislature advanced the anti-drag law last year with the support of Republican Gov. Bill Lee. Several GOP members pointed to drag performances in their hometowns as reasons why it was necessary to restrict such performances from taking place in public or where children could view them.
Yet the actual word 鈥渄rag鈥 doesn鈥檛 appear in the statute. Instead, lawmakers changed the state鈥檚 definition of adult cabaret to mean 鈥渁dult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors.鈥 Furthermore, 鈥渕ale or female impersonators鈥 were classified as a form of adult cabaret, akin to strippers or topless dancers.
The law banned adult cabaret performances on public property or anywhere minors might be present. Performers who break the law risk being charged with a misdemeanor or a felony for a repeat offense.
In Thursday's ruling, the justices stressed that term 鈥渉armful to minors鈥 has a specific definition under Tennessee law 鈥 which has three components that must be met in order to prosecute. The ruling also pointed out that the Tennessee Supreme Court limited the definition of 鈥渉armful to a minor鈥 to materials lacking "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for a reasonable 17-year-old minor.鈥
鈥淔OG has not alleged that its performances lack serious value for a 17-year-old. In fact, it insists the exact opposite. Its own witness, a member of FOG鈥檚 board, conceded that its shows 鈥榓re definitely appropriate鈥 for a 15- year-old and would 鈥榓bsolutely鈥 have artistic value for a 17-year-old,鈥 the ruling stated.
Friends of George's did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the ruling.
鈥淎s a state overflowing with world-class artists and musicians, Tennessee respects the right to free expression,鈥 said Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in a statement. 鈥淏ut as the court noted, Tennessee鈥檚 鈥榟armful to minors鈥 standard is constitutionally sound and Tennessee can absolutely prohibit the exhibition of obscene material to children.鈥
Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn, who represents Nashville, called the court's ruling a 鈥渕isguided attack on the LGBTQ+ community.鈥
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about protecting kids; it鈥檚 about spreading fear and division,鈥 Behn said in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic that those who claim to support small government are the first to impose it on our personal freedoms.鈥
Questions over how Tennessee's anti-drag ban should be enforced have constantly been debated since the law's inception. Democrats, who hold only a sliver of power in Tennessee, were quick to argue that the law was too vague and could be used by a prosecutor to target the LGBTQ+ community.
While a federal judge last June sided with Friends of George's that the law was "substantially overbroad鈥 and encouraged 鈥渄iscriminatory enforcement,鈥 the ruling only applied to Shelby County, where Memphis lies.
Shortly after, a district attorney warned Pride organizers in eastern Tennessee that he planned on enforcing the anti-drag ban during their annual festival, prompting organizers in Blount County to sue. A federal judge preventing law enforcement and the district attorney from the enforcing the state law.
Similar to other Republican-led states, Tennessee's Republican supermajority has repeatedly passed laws over the years targeting transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community.
Earlier this year, the Human Rights Campaign announced that Tennessee has enacted more anti-LGBTQ+ laws more than any other state since 2015, identifying more than 20 bills that advanced out of the Legislature this year alone.
That included sending Gov. Lee a bill banning the spending of state money on hormone therapy or sex reassignment procedures for prisoners 鈥 though it would not apply to state inmates currently receiving hormone therapy 鈥 and requiring public school employees to .
