Lawsuit over Tennessee law that puts limits on drag shows dismissed by federal court in win for Republicans

In a win for Tennessee’s Republican-led legislature, a federal appeals court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by an LGBTQ group that challenged a state law restricting drag shows considered “harmful to minors.”

Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based theater that does “drag-centric performances,” sued over the law last year, claiming it would hurt its business because it has no age restrictions. 

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that Friends of George’s didn’t have legal standing to sue over the law because it wasn’t at risk of violating the law, finding its shows weren’t “harmful to minors.”

The ruling reverses a lower court decision that called the law unconstitutional after the group sued, temporarily blocking its enforcement in Memphis’ Shelby County. The lower court had called the law “substantially overbroad” and said it encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” 

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With the support of Republican Gov. Bill Lee, the first-of-its-kind law was passed by the state legislature last year but has faced legal hurdles since then. 

“Harmful to minors” has been defined by the Tennessee Supreme Court as shows that lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for a reasonable 17-year-old minor.”

In its ruling Thursday, the appeals court said 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 FOG’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.” 

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But state Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democrat, claimed Thursday’s ruling was a “misguided attack on the LGBTQ+ community.”

“This isn’t about protecting kids; it’s about spreading fear and division,” she said. “It’s ironic that those who claim to support small government are the first to impose it on our personal freedoms.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Friends of George’s for comment. 

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti argued, however, the law was “constitutionally sound.”

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“As a state overflowing with world-class artists and musicians, Tennessee respects the right to free expression,” he said in a statement. “But as the court noted, Tennessee’s ‘harmful to minors’ standard is constitutionally sound, and Tennessee can absolutely prohibit the exhibition of obscene material to children.”

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