A federal judge temporarily blocked a controversial anti-drag law in Tennessee one day before it was set to go in effect.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker issued the temporary injunction on Friday after hearing arguments in the case brought by Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater company, against Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and the state, according to the Associated Press.
Judge Parker wrote in his ruling that the state did not give a clear answer as to the purpose of the new law given Tennessee’s current obscenity laws, adding that the new law is “both vague and overly-broad.”
“Does a citizen’s private residence count? How about a camping ground at a national park? What if a minor browsing the worldwide web from a public library views an ‘adult cabaret performance’?” Parker wrote. “Ultimately, the Statute’s broad language clashes with the First Amendment’s tight constraints.”
“If Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the constraints and framework of the United States Constitution. The Court finds that, as it stands, the record here suggests that when the legislature passed this Statute, it missed the mark,” Parker added.
Mulroy did not object to the temporary injunction. He told the Associated Press in a statement: “There has been much concern and confusion about the law from the community. This will allow the court to clarify the scope, application, and constitutionality of the statute. It’s important to understand the scope of this law so that it doesn’t have a harmful effect on constitutionally protected expression.”
