A judge ruled Tennessee drag law unconstitutional and citizens are better off

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Tennessee’s governor and lawmakers overstepped their authority when they approved legislation prohibiting drag performances in public venues and in front of children.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker ruled that the Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) is unconstitutional. While his order prohibits the Shelby County district attorney from enforcing it – because the lawsuit was filed there – the judgment has implications for Tennessee’s 94 other counties.

In effect, the judge argued this law is a direct affront to the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech and expression. This was a powerful indictment of a law the jurist described as "unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad."

“The Tennessee General Assembly can certainly use its mandate to pass law that their communities demand,” Parker wrote. “But that mandate as to speech is limited by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which  commands that laws infringing on the Freedom of Speech must be narrow and well-defined. The AEA is neither.”

Parker was nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate 98-0 in 2018.

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'Under the banner of the First Amendment'

Last fall, I wrote a column saying that drag shows and churches could coexist in the same community in response to opposition on religious grounds to a drag show at a Jackson Pride event. This preceded an aggressive effort to target drag performers as one of the super majority GOP state legislature’s first priorities in the 2023 legislative session.

“Make no mistake, this was textbook bullying,” I wrote. “A group of citizens, under the banner of the First Amendment and shielded by state lawmakers, sought to silence another, less powerful group.”

Lawmakers contended that they were seeking to protect children from harm, but it was a claim that did not hold water for Judge Parker.

The reality is that this law and others that target and marginalize the LGBTQ community are about asserting power and pushing the boundaries of legislative action where the majority’s viewpoint takes precedence over equal protection for all citizens.

That is wrong.

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Moreover, the law seemingly gave permission to some local elected and appointed officials in Tennessee communities such as Murfreesboro and Franklin to paint Pride events as obscene and use the power of government to target events they did not like.

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Franklin Pride was approved and took place Saturday. The Murfreesboro Boro Pride organizers faced opposition from the city manager and has had a tougher road to hoe, but there is an event planned for Sept. 9, according to the BoroPride Facebook page.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said he plans to appeal Parker’s ruling, but hopefully, he will take some time to reflect on the judge’s words and reconsider.

Lawmakers should not be passing unconstitutional laws, and attorneys general should not be defending them.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the Paste BN Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean, where this column first published. He also hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters.