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Florida Can’t Enforce Anti-Drag Ban, Says Appeals Court, Upholding Earlier Decision

The Florida drag ban can't be enforced by the state, an appeals court ruled, keeping in place an injunction blocking the restrictions.

The statute aimed to prohibit children from attending “lewd” live performances at restaurants and bars, with Governor Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers singling out drag shows in public statements on the law. The opinion notes, for example, that a Florida enforcement agency previously revoked one venue’s liquor license after deeming “lewd” a performance in which a drag artist known as “Jimbo” mimicked giving birth to a pile of baloney. “One of the act’s sponsors’ stated intent to target ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ also helps show the potential breadth of a term like ‘lewd conduct,’” Judge Rosenbaum wrote.

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