A Florida law aimed at preventing children from attending drag shows was blocked by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell issued a preliminary injunction last month that enjoins the enforcement of Senate Bill 1438, also known as the Protection of Children Act.
“Existing obscenity laws provide Defendant with the necessary authority to protect children from any constitutionally unprotected obscene exhibitions or shows,” Judge Presnell wrote in his June 24 order. “The harm to Plaintiff clearly outweighs any purported evils not covered by Florida law and a preliminary injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.”
Senate Bill 1438 authorizes the Division of Hotels and Restaurants to fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public lodging or public food service establishment for admitting a child to an adult live performance.
“This is a free speech case,” said Attorney Gary Israel. “I want the freedom to be able to decide what is appropriate for my family to see. I put on parties at my own house, and I had these performers come to my house and perform. Under this law, the state could burst in and arrest me for a show in my backyard!”
Israel sued Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida in District Court for the Middle District on behalf of the restaurant Hamburger Mary’s, which has been staging drag shows since 2008.
"Hamburger Mary's has what they consider a family-friendly show on Sundays, and it's primarily because of the language that is used to make sure that children are not hearing inappropriate things that adults wouldn't mind, but you don't want children exposed to," he said.
The state of Florida is appealing Judge Presnell's decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal and has filed a motion for a stay.
"The court will either deny the stay of the injunction, meaning the law cannot be enforced during the appeal in the 11th Circuit, or grant the stay of the injunction, meaning the law will go into effect while it's on appeal," Israel said in an interview. "The court could also order a hearing but I don't think the court will order a hearing."
Under the new law, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco is empowered to revoke or suspend a restaurant’s alcohol license if it is determined that a child was admitted to an adult live performance.
Since it became effective on June 1, bookings at Hamburger Mary’s have fallen by 20%, according to media reports.
“The judge clearly has found there are already laws in the state of Florida preventing children from being exposed to lascivious behavior so this law is unnecessary to accomplish that goal,” Israel told the Florida Record. “All they're doing is trying to now expand it to give the state authority over drag performances, and that is a violation of the First Amendment because drag in and of itself is not inappropriate for children to see.”