Tennessee’s Drag Ban Gets Green Light from Appeals Court
lower court’s ruling that the AEA was an unconstitutional infringement on performers’ First Amendment rights.The judges also lifted an injunction that prohibited local authorities in Shelby County — which encompasses the city of Memphis and its suburbs — from enforcing the law Writing for the court, Nalbandian found that the Memphis-based LGBTQ theater company, Friends of George’s (FOG), lacked legal standing to sue over the law, because its “drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays” did not meet specific criteria under Tennessee law to be considered “harmful to minors.”As a result, he argued, the theater company failed to prove it was at risk of potential future prosecution and lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.Nalbandian and Siler declined to address whether the law’s content violated the First Amendment.But Circuit Judge Andre Mathis, a Biden appointee, noted in a dissenting opinion that the majority’s ruling conflicts with both past 6th Circuit precedent, as well as Supreme Court precedent.Mathis argued that Friends of George’s had standing to sue because the content of their skits might be considered “adult-oriented performances.”And because the theater where the troupe performs does not distinguish between adult and child ticket holders, and does not card all patrons, a handful of minors could end up seeing the shows — thus violating the law, and making the theater company subject to prosecution.Mathis found that the AEA is not simply a “time, place, or manner restriction” that might otherwise be considered reasonable, but rather a content-based restriction targeting shows that lawmakers may personally deem offensive or objectionable — a clear violation of the First Amendment.Tennessee Attorney