Federal appeals court dismisses challenge to Tennessee’s anti-drag law

CNN —

A federal appeals court on Thursday dismissed a challenge to a Tennessee law that restricts public drag show performances in the state.

The appeals court ruled 2-1 that Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based nonprofit that produces drag performances and comedy sketches, lacked the legal standing challenge the law, with the dissenting judge saying that he thought the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the measure, which he called an “unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech.”

Passed in 2023, Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act sought to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public property to shield children from viewing them. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and repeat offenders with a felony.

The Tennessee law was the first of its kind to be enacted in the US. State officials have argued that the measure is not a full ban and is only intended to stop overtly sexual performances in front of minors.

In June 2023, a federal judge barred enforcement of the law in Shelby County, Tennessee, which is home to Memphis, saying the law was an “unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of speech.” But the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision on Thursday and threw out the case in its entirety.

The appellate court said Friends of George’s failed to show how it would be harmed by the law.

Circuit Judge John Nalbandian wrote that the group “faces no certainly impeding threat of prosecution.” Nalbandian, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was joined by Circuit Judge Eugene Siler, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush.

More than 50 people gathered Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, to protest the university