Judge Blocks Florida Law Restricting Drag Performances In Hamburger Mary’s Case
A federal judge in Orlando Friday temporarily blocked a new Florida law restricting drag performances, the third time this month that federal courts have enjoined laws backed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that concern gender or LGBTQ+ matters.
In all three cases, the courts ruled that the laws appear to infringe on people’s constitutional rights. In Friday’s decision, U.S.
District Judge Gregory Presnell of the Middle District of Florida granted an injunction preventing the state from enforcing a law that bans minors from attending obscene live performances, calling it too broad.
The governor’s office attacked the judge in a statement saying he was “dead wrong” and predicted the state would win on appeal. “Of course it’s constitutional to prevent the sexualization of children by limiting access to adult live performances,” governor’s spokesperson Jeremy Redfern said in an email.
