Florida’s new law on drag shows is blocked

A federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked a new law allowing the state to penalize businesses that admit children to “adult live performances” such as drag shows.

Judge Gregory Presnell of the U.S. District Court in Orlando issued a preliminary injunction blocking the new law, which went into effect last month.

The law does not mention drag shows by name, but lawmakers made it clear that they were targeting such performances, characterizing the measure as one intended to protect children.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure in April. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is running for president, signed the legislation in late May. It empowers the state to fine businesses that violate its terms or to revoke or suspend their licenses.

Even before the law’s passage, his administration tried to revoke the liquor licenses of some venues that had allowed children into drag shows — a penalty that would effectively put those venues out of business.

Hamburger Mary’s, a restaurant that regularly hosts drag shows in Orlando, sued the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in May, claiming that the law was too vague and that it would violate its constitutional right to free speech.

Presnell’s ruling Friday in favor of Hamburger Mary’s found that existing obscenity laws already gave the state the authority necessary to protect children. In the 24-page ruling, he also found that the state failed to narrowly tailor the law and that its broad attempt to regulate content would very likely violate the First Amendment’s free speech protections.

The ruling was a victory for supporters of LGBTQ rights, who have sued over similar restrictions in other states.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation could appeal Presnell’s preliminary injunction to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta while the litigation continues in the lower trial court.