Federal Appeals Court Upholds Tennessee Drag Law

A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act, which regulates drag performances, reversing a lower court decision.

A panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Memphis theater company Friend of George’s lacked standing to challenge the law and dismissed the case.

The Adult Entertainment Act rewrote state law to include female or male impersonators as adult-oriented performance and barred such performances from any public space and any space where children could view it.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law April 1. The ACLU and Friend of George’s joined forces to challenge the law’s constitutionality almost immediately and in a scathing and thorough decision, U.S. District Court Judge Tommy Parker — who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump — echoed the concerns raised by opponents to the AEA throughout its legislative process: the law was vague and overly broad and an unconstitutional restriction on free speech that overreached the relatively narrow bounds of addressing a compelling state interest. He enjoined its enforcement. The state appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case was argued before a panel there in February. 

In a 2-1 decision, the panel found that the language in the law was not impermissibly vague and that Friends of George’s arguments made it clear the troupe knew what “harmful to minors” to meant and that its own testimony showed it faced no harm from the law’s enforcement.

“Friends of George’s has not alleged that its performances lack serious value for a 17-year-old. In fact, it insists the exact opposite. Its own witness, a member of Friends of George’s board, conceded that its shows ‘are definitely appropriate’ for a 15-year-old and would ‘absolutely’ have artistic value for a 17-year-old,” the judges wrote.

Senior Circuit Court Judge Eugene Siler, who was originally appointed to the federal bench by Gerald Ford and was appointed to the circuit court by George H.W. Bush, and Circuit Court Judge John Nalbandian, appointed by Donald Trump, affirmed the decision. Joe Biden appointee Andre Mathis dissented.