Tennessee first state to ban drag shows on public property
Tennessee on Thursday became the first state to sharply restrict drag performances as the state's governor, Bill Lee, signed a bill banning the shows on public property and in places where they could be watched by minors.
The law, which limits “adult cabaret” performances that feature “topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators,” will take effect later this year. Those who violate the new law will be charged with a misdemeanor, or a felony for subsequent offenses.
The new law came amid attacks by Republicans on the rights of transgender and LGBTQ Americans across the country. On Thursday, Lee, a Republican, also signed a separate bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
When asked by reporters last month about the drag bill, Lee referred to the shows as “sexualized entertainment in front of children,” according to The Associated Press. At the same time, a photograph of the governor wearing a dress, which was published in his 1977 school yearbook, surfaced on Reddit. He told reporters that it was “ridiculous” to compare the two.
Though the drag law is part of a broader push by Republicans to restrict such shows across the country, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee said that it did not believe the law would make it illegal to perform in drag in the state.
According to the ACLU, the language of the law, which will restrict performances that are “harmful to minors,” is narrow, covering only extreme sexual or violent content that has no artistic value. According to the organization, drag performances do not fall into this category and are protected by the First Amendment.
“The law bans obscene performances, and drag performances are not inherently obscene,” Stella Yarbrough, the legal director of the ACLU of Tennessee, said in a statement.
She added, however, that the organization was concerned that elected officials could easily abuse the new law to censor people, “chilling protected free speech and sending a message to LGBTQ Tennesseans that they are not welcome in our state.”