Ron DeSantis Suffers Legal Blow in Battle Over Drag Shows

A federal appeals court has blocked a Florida law seeking to ban children from drag shows, in a blow for Governor Ron DeSantis.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed a ruling by District Judge Gregory Presnell that the anti-drag bill was not "sufficiently narrowly tailored" to protect free speech.

The DeSantis administration is appealing Presnell's ruling, issued in June, and his preliminary injunction that prevents Florida from enacting its law. The state's lawyers had requested a partial stay of the injunction, but this was rejected by the appeals court on Wednesday.

In its 2-1 decision, the court warned that "there is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon protected speech" if the law is allowed to stay in place until Florida's full appeal is heard.

The dispute began in May, when Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary's sued the DeSantis administration over the Protection of Children bill, one of a number of laws targeting drag shows in Republican-led states.

DeSantis is running for the GOP's presidential nomination, but is trailing former President Donald Trump in polls. LGBTQ+ activists have accused the governor of making the state "hostile" to the community as he seeks to gain the support of conservative Americans.

Newsweek has contacted DeSantis' office for comment.

Hamburger Mary's said in its filing that it had run "family-friendly" drag shows for 15 years, including bingo, quizzes and comedy nights hosted by drag acts. The law was affecting its business and violating its free speech, it added.

The bill would prevent venues from admitting children to adult live performances. It defines adult live performances as "any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience, which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities, ... lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts."

In Wednesday's majority federal appeal court opinion, Judges Adalberto Jordan and Robin Rosenbaum said Presnell had noted the Florida law was likely overbroad and unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

Jordan and Rosenbaum pointed to legal precedents and said that in "other cases where a law has been found to be overbroad in violation of the First Amendment, we have affirmed injunctions preventing enforcement of a law or ordinance against nonparties as well as parties."

They said the harm done from letting the injunction stand, pending a trial on the merits of the state's appeal, "will not be extensive".

They added: "No prosecutions have yet been undertaken under the law, so none will be disrupted if the injunction stands. Further, if the injunction is upheld, the Government in the interim can enforce obscenity laws already on the books."

Judge Andrew Brasher dissented, saying he would have allowed drag shows at Hamburger Mary's but would not have applied the lower court's injunction anywhere else in Florida.

"HM's [Hamburger Mary's] injury is the fear of being prosecuted for violating (the law)," Brasher wrote. "A preliminary injunction prohibiting state officials from enforcing that law against HM and anyone acting in concert with HM would completely remedy HM's injury. Nothing more is necessary or appropriate."

The Florida law would allow regulators to suspend or revoke licenses of restaurants, bars and other venues that violate it. It would also prohibit local governments from issuing public permits for events that could expose children to the targeted behavior. People could also face first-degree misdemeanor charges for "knowingly" admitting children to adult live performances.

Presnell's injunction bars the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation from "instituting, maintaining or prosecuting any enforcement proceedings under the act until further order of the court following a trial on the merits of this case."