As LGBTQ+ advocates celebrate a federal judge’s ruling declaring Tennessee’s so-called anti-drag show law unconstitutional, questions remain over whether the law will be enforced after the court declared that the decision only applied to the state’s most populous county.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker ruled that the first-in-the-nation law was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.”
The ruling came just as many Pride events were scheduled across the heavily conservative state, including events where drag performers were expected to appear publicly and many of which were designated for all ages.
Yet even after Friday’s ruling, questions remain about how prosecutors will respond. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement that the law remains in effect outside of Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis. However, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told reporters Tuesday that he believes district attorneys won’t enforce a law that a federal judge says violates the First Amendment.