Supreme Court Deals DeSantis a Blow, Says Florida Can’t Enforce Anti-Drag Show Law

The Supreme Court denied temporary relief to Florida on Thursday by upholding a lower court’s ruling blocking the state’s law that bans children from “adult live performances” that are “lewd” in nature.

The decision was handed down via the court’s shadow docket, where petitioners seek emergency relief until their case is formally ruled on after oral arguments are heard.

By a 6-3 vote, the court upheld a federal district judge’s ruling from July that temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement. The plaintiff in the case is an Orlando restaurant chain that sued over the Protection of Children Act signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis the same month. The law has been roundly criticized for violating the First Amendment’s free speech clause.

The law does not mention drag shows, but it defines “adult live performance” as “any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience and in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, specific sexual activities, … lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

In blocking the law earlier this year, the lower court said it is “specifically designed to suppress the speech of drag queen performers.” Subsequently, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear the case, declined an emergency request by Florida to reinstate the law.

The Supreme Court’s order denying relief stated that Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas wanted to allow Florida to enforce the law, which will remain blocked until the 11th Circuit issues a ruling. However, the other six justices were not sold on the petition.

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