Federal judge blocks Florida from enforcing ban on minors attending drag shows

The plaintiffs argue the new law is overly vague.

A federal judge in central Florida on Friday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a new law banning minors from attending drag shows.

The judge, Gregory Presnell, was acting on a request by the restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s, which sued Florida last month claiming that the law was overly broad and put a chilling effect on the right to free speech under the First Amendment.

Presnell, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, determined that while some people may find a drag performer reading a children’s book to a minor during a performance to be inappropriate, it doesn’t necessarily constitute an obscene performance. He also stated that current obscenity laws already “provide Defendant with the necessary authority to protect children from any constitutionally unprotected obscene exhibitions or shows.”

Florida’s Republican-led Legislature passed the measure in April that bars minors from attending drag shows with “lewd” performances. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, signed it into law in mid-May. The governor previously said such drag performances “sexualize” kids and has pushed for stricter restrictions around them.

The governor’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Hamburger Mary’s frequently hosts “family-friendly” drag performances where children are invited to perform.

The company argues that the family-friendly drag shows, while not obscene, could be banned under the new law and has canceled some events.

The DeSantis administration has taken other actions against drag shows. This year, it filed a complaint against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation after the group hosted an all-ages “Drag Queen Christmas” that the state alleged was explicit. Undercover agents who were in the audience, however, didn’t find any “lewd acts,” according to a state report that was first detailed by the Miami Herald.