Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,
A federal appeals court says Florida’s ban on children attending sexualized drag shows is constitutional. On Tuesday, the court overturned a lower court’s decision that had blocked the state’s law.
Hamburger Mary’s, a bar and restaurant chain that holds drag shows and previously held what it called “family friendly” performances for children on Sundays, sued the state over the ban. The chain claimed its law was unconstitutional, but judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in an 8–5 ruling.
Judge Andrew Brasher, writing on behalf of the majority opinion, said, “We are convinced the district court erred” for two reasons.
“First, the district court lacked authority to impose a universal injunction that prevented the enforcement of the Act,” Brasher said.
“Second, Hamburger Mary’s was not entitled to even a more limited preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of the Act because its claims do not have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”
Lawyers for Hamburger Mary’s did not respond to a request for comment.
The restaurant claimed Florida’s 2023 Protection of Children Act violated the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.
The law would make it a misdemeanor for businesses to knowingly allow a child to an “adult live performance” that “depicts or s
