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Federal Judge Rejects Tennessee Law Banning Drag Shows

HeadlineJun 05, 2023

A federal judge has ruled Tennessee’s law banning drag shows is unconstitutional. The Trump-appointed judge said in a decision released Friday the legislation was overly broad and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” Tennessee’s law was signed by Republican Governor Bill Lee in March and comes as part of an onslaught of attacks on the rights of LGBTQ people. On Saturday, attendees at a Pride event in Franklin, Tennessee, celebrated the ruling. This is drag performer Cya Inhale.

Cya Inhale: “Having the answer finally delivered and that breath of fresh air and that weight off our shoulders that it’s finally gone, we don’t have to worry about it, is lovely. We can breathe easy for the rest of the year. There’s still a fight, and we still have to continue fighting. There are still other states that we are — drag is still being criminalized, that we still have to work on, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

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