A judge has temporarily halted a law in Tennessee that limits drag performances.

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Tennessee Law Restricting Drag Performances

In a victory for the LGBTQ community, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a Tennessee law aimed at restricting public drag performances. The law, which makes no explicit mention of drag but forbids “adult cabaret” and performances on public property by topless, go-go or exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators that are “harmful to minors,” had created concerns about the implications for drag performers and transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

A Memphis theater company, Friends of George’s, had challenged the law, arguing that the ambiguity of the language violated the theater’s constitutional rights. Violators of the law would be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony for continued offenses. The company frequently stages drag performances and is set to open “Drag Rocks,” billed as a mixture of comedy and drag performances, on April 14.

In his ruling, Judge Thomas L. Parker stated that the company’s concerns about upcoming performances were not “trifling issues for a theater company — certainly not in the free, civil society we hold our country to be.” He also said that if Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the framework of the United States Constitution.

The theater company had highlighted the global history of drag performances, from the male actors who performed female roles in plays by William Shakespeare to American vaudeville productions. It also noted a successful effort by a Republican state legislator to restrict a drag performance at a Pride parade in Jackson, Tenn., last year, and that several organizations had already dropped plans to host drag events as part of Pride celebrations this year because of the law.

“We won because this is a bad law,” said Mark Campbell, the president of the board of directors for the theater company, in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court where the rights for all Tennesseans will be affirmed.” Spokespersons for the district attorney for Shelby County and Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As of now, the law’s implementation has been delayed for at least 14 days, and the case will continue in court.