Supreme Court Blocks Florida’s Drag Ban

metroweekly.com:

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell’s injunction, which not only blocked the state from enforcing the ban against “family-friendly” drag shows at Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando, but against drag performances throughout the state.Florida authorities sought to have the scope of the judge’s injunction scaled back so that it would only apply to Hamburger Mary’s, while enabling state authorities to enforce the law.The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has enthusiastically moved to yank the business and liquor licenses of venues that have hosted drag shows, even before the law’s passage.Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch indicated that they would have taken up the state’s appeal of the Presnell’s injunction with an eye toward allowing the state to fine or revoke the licenses of all businesses, except Hamburger Mary’s, that permit on-site drag performances.In a statement accompanying the Supreme Court’s order, Justice Brett Kavanaugh — joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett — refused to reinstate the law, but cautioned that the court’s refusal to take up the emergency motion did not indicate the justices’ views on the law’s constitutionality, reports The Washington Post.Kavanaugh argued the state of Florida did not contest the lower court’s finding that the drag ban may violate free speech, but instead took issue with the scope of Presnell’s order.“To begin with, although Florida strongly disagrees with the District Court’s First Amendment analysis, Florida’s stay application to this Court does not raise that First Amendment issue.