‘Drag Ban’ Law in Florida Kept on Hold by US Supreme Court (1)

A divided US Supreme Court refused for now to let Florida enforce a new law aimed at restricting drag shows at venues where children are present.

The justices, over three dissents, left in force a lower court order that blocked the measure as a free speech violation while a legal fight goes forward. The law, championed by Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, makes it a criminal offense to admit a child to an “adult live performance.”

Florida asked the Supreme Court to limit the federal trial judge’s injunction to Hamburger Mary’s, an Orlando restaurant that sued to challenge the law. Hamburger Mary’s describes itself as a family restaurant that hosts drag shows, comedy sketches and dancing.

Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — dissented. Neither they nor the court as a whole gave any explanation.

Two justices in the majority, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, said the court shouldn’t grant a stay application unless the justices are likely to hear an appeal in the case. Writing for the pair, Kavanaugh described the Florida dispute as an “imperfect vehicle” for considering the power of federal judges to issue injunctions that go beyond the parties in the lawsuit.

DeSantis ‘Drag Ban’ Turns Parents-Rights Debate on Its Head

Drag has increasingly come under fire from conservative politicians. Florida’s law was the second of its kind in the US, following a Tennessee measure that is also embroiled in a legal fight.

The Florida law doesn’t explicitly mention drag shows, but one of its sponsors, Representative Randy Fine, touted it in a social media post as a way to end “Drag Queen Story Time.”

The state turned to the high court after a federal appeals court rejected a similar request on a 2-1 vote.

The case is Griffin v. HM Florida-ORL LLC, 23A366.

(Describes court’s breakdown in fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Elizabeth Wasserman at ewasserman2@bloomberg.net

Sara Forden

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