SCOTUS won't weigh in on Tennessee drag restrictions law
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The U.S. Supreme Court announced this week it would not weigh in on Tennessee's 2023 law restricting drag performances.
Why it matters: The decision effectively ends the legal battle over the controversial law, which is already in effect.
Zoom in: The law makes it a crime to perform "adult cabaret" in public or anywhere minors could see it.
- It defined such an act as "adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors" under the state's obscenity code. The law said those performances might include "male or female impersonators."
State of play: Republican supporters argued the law would protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances.
- LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who opposed the law, argued the state's existing obscenity law already did that.
Between the lines: Mainstream drag performances, like drag brunches or story times at libraries, can still take place as long as they don't meet the narrow definition of "harmful to minors" outlined in the state's obscenity code.
- But advocates worried the law could be applied too broadly by law enforcement in order to stop legal performances, or that it would have a chilling effect.
Flashback: A lower court judge temporarily blocked the law in 2023, saying it was "purposefully overbroad such that it can chill speech that may be constitutionally-protected."
- But a federal appeals court threw out the lawsuit, allowing the law to go into effect last year.
The latest: The Supreme Court denied a request to reconsider the appeals court decision on Monday.
- Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti hailed the move as a "big win."