‘VAGUE AND OVERBROAD’

Judge Temporarily Blocks DeSantis’ Drag Show Law for Kids

“It is this vague language—dangerously susceptible to standardless, overbroad enforcement which could sweep up substantial protected speech,” the judge wrote in his Friday order.

A Florida federal judge has temporarily blocked a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans minors from attending drag shows. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell ruled the law was “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad,” and left too much up for interpretation under “adult live performance” and “lewd conduct.” “It is this vague language—dangerously susceptible to standardless, overbroad enforcement which could sweep up substantial protected speech,” Presnell wrote in his Friday order. He claimed under the current law, performances could “conceivably range from a sold-out burlesque show to a skit at a backyard family barbecue.” The judge also raised issues with the law’s specification of “prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts,” which could theoretically have “implications for cancer survivors with prosthetic genitals or breasts.” The state will likely appeal the block, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.