A federal court blocked Florida’s new drag show law, ruling the state’s effort to bar children from attending “adult live performances,” is overly vague and likely unconstitutional.
The decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell comes only a day after another federal court overturned another Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed law prohibiting gender-affirming care treatment in Florida from being covered by Medicaid.
The two decisions undermine a high-profile new law seen by many as targeting the LGBTQ community that DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, pushed through the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature.
It was one of at least 18 bills that directly or indirectly targeted transgender life, ranging from a ban on preferred pronouns in the classroom to a law governing which bathrooms they could use. During the session, hundreds of drag queens, members of the LGBTQ community, and allies from across Florida marched on the Capitol.
The drag show law was challenged by an Orlando restaurant, Hamburger Mary’s, which has hosted such performances for 15 years, including those it described as “family friendly.”
In court filings, attorneys for the restaurant argued the Florida already had laws on the books preventing minors from being exposed to “lewd, sexually explicit, obscene, vulgar or indecent displays.”
The new law was signed by DeSantis and took effect May 17.
But in blocking its enforcement, Presnell found the measure conflicted with a state law that guarantees the rights of parents to make decisions in the best interests of their children. He also said it likely violated constitutional free speech guarantees and was too vague to enforce.
The judge also raised doubts about state claims that blocking the law would “harm the public by exposing children to “adult live performances.”
“This concern rings hollow, however, when accompanied by the knowledge that Florida state law presently and independently… permits any minor to attend an R-rated film at a movie theater if accompanied by a parent or guardian,” Presnell ruled.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to the ruling. But the state is likely to appeal.
The law defines “adult live performances,” in part as “any show, exhibition or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities…lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”
It bars local governments from issuing public permits for events that could expose children to the targeted activities. Also, state regulators could suspend or revoke licenses of restaurants, bars, and other venues violating the law.
The Florida law mirrored measures advanced in several other Republican-led states. It also came after the DeSantis administration had already imposed regulatory penalties on restaurants and bars mostly in South and Central Florida that had allowed children to attend drag shows.
The Hyatt Regency Miami hotel was threatened with the loss of its liquor license for hosting a “Drag Queen Christmas,” in December.
Hamburger Mary’s is part of a national chain of drag-themed burger restaurants, with roots in San Francisco.
In challenging Florida’s law, the owners of the Orlando site said they were forced to cancel a Sunday series of family-friendly performances and that customers had already stopped coming to the restaurant.
In a Facebook post, the owners also said they thought the bill had nothing to do with children and “everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community.”