Judge Pauses Tennessee Drag Ban

A federal judge temporarily paused the enforcement of an ordinance in Murfreesboro, Tennessee designed to ban drag performances in public spaces. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. issued the order on October 20 barring the city from enforcing the ban during the Murfreesboro pride festival that happens in late October. 

The move came after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project, the organization putting on the Murfreesboro Pride Event. 

“We are relieved that the court has taken action to ensure that Murfreesboro’s discriminatory ordinance will not be enforced during the BoroPride festival,” Chis Sanders, the executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, says in a statement with the ACLU. “We look forward to a safe, joyful celebration of Murfreesboro’s LGBTQ+ community.”

The order is part of an ongoing legal and political battle over LGBTQ+ rights in Tennessee and across the country. Conservative activists have argued that drag performances, like performances during Boro Pride 2022, “sexualized children.” Last year, Tennessee passed a bill categorizing male and female impersonation as “adult cabaret performances” akin to topless dancing and stripping. The law also banned any such performances from taking place anywhere “it could be viewed by someone who is not an adult.” 

The law was temporarily blocked from going into effect in June due to language that U.S. Court Judge Thomas Parker called “vague and overly broad” in its restrictions of speech. That is to say, multiple district court judges have now ruled this law, which limits the speech and presence of drag performers, as unconstitutional. Shocking. 

The law was signed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who had a photo emerge of him dressed in drag at a high school event in 1977. Supporters of the law claim it is needed to protect children from exposure to inappropriate entertainment, although Tennessee’s obscenity statute already covers sexually explicit performances. 

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has, in the past, filed appeals on other rulings against the law. It is yet to be seen if Skrmetti will also appeal Judge Crenshaw’s ruling. 

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