Supreme Court Declines To Hear Challenge To Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Law

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to consider a challenge to an anti-drag law in Tennessee that limits certain drag performances, allowing the law to remain mostly unchanged. In an unsigned ruling, the justices rejected a request from a Tennessee theater company to participate in its challenge to the state’s drag restrictions, first established in 2023 by the GOP-led state Legislature. Although the law does not specifically reference drag shows, state legislators indicated that its purpose was to limit them. Previously, a Tennessee court had ruled the law, which targets “adult-themed performances” occurring in public or where they might be visible to minors, as unconstitutional, preventing its enforcement in certain areas of the state. However, a federal appeals court overturned that ruling in July, determining that the Memphis-based theater group Friends of George’s did not have the legal standing to contest Tennessee’s regulations. Friends of George’s contended that the state’s law would adversely affect them since they create “drag-focused performances, comedic acts, and theatrical productions” outside of age-restricted locations. Nevertheless, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the group was not at risk of breaking the law because their performances were not deemed “detrimental to minors.”