Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, from Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)
Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration has renewed efforts to enforce a 2023 law utilized to prohibit youth from attending drag shows, even as the measure continues to face legal challenges.
Attorneys for the state last week filed a motion at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to allow almost statewide enforcement while a fight about the constitutionality of the law continues to play out in federal court.
If granted, the only business that wouldn’t have to enforce the law would be Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando, which successfully challenged the statute in 2023. A U.S. District Judge sided with Hamburger Mary’s and issued a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement statewide.
The state’s most recent motion notes that “Such a stay will fully protect HM’s (Hamburger Mary’s) rights for the remainder of this appeal while allowing the state to enforce its duly enacted statute geared at protecting children in other establishments in the state.” Florida has asked for a rehearing on the injunction in June, a request that remains pending.
The state’s request focuses on a Supreme Court decision regarding Donald Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, which barred a “universal” injunction. It is unclear how the Court of Appeals will respond to Florida’s motion or if it will agree to narrow the injunction.
DeSantis has defended the law, stating, “We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.” He added that children shouldn’t be exposed to inappropriate content. Last month, Florida Attorney General Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier targeted a Vero Beach restaurant after it hosted an LGBTQ+ Pride event featuring drag.
If the appellate court agrees, businesses that host drag shows could once again face enforcement actions that include the potential revocation of liquor licenses. It would also prohibit local governments from issuing public permits for events that could expose children to the targeted behavior.
“The governor’s goal is for our community to censor our expression in accordance with the most extreme reading of the law,” the Human Rights Campaign’s Brandon Wolf told Watermark Out News in 2023. “We must stand in support of drag performers and the small businesses that host them … That is what it looks like to resist the right-wing agenda.”
