WHEN District Attorney Ryan K. Desmond, above, learned that a Pride event was scheduled to take place at the beginning of September, he warned in a letter that criminal prosecutions would follow if participants flouted Tennessee’s anti-drag law.
But just ahead of the event U.S. District Court Judge J. Ronnie Greer issued a ruling blocking Desmond from enforcing Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act.
Greer’s order said Desmond cannot enforce, detain, arrest or seek warrants to enforce the act and cannot interfere with Blount Pride’s festival.
The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and attorneys Brice Timmons, Melissa Stewart, Daniel Horwitz, Melissa Dix, and Justin Gilbert on behalf of Blount Pride and Christian artist and drag performer Flamy Grant.
Flamy Grant. Image via YouTube.
On April 1, 2023, Tennessee’s anti-drag law took effect, banning “male or female impersonators” from performing in public spaces. A U.S. District Court judge promptly blocked the law, stating it was specifically designed to stifle constitutionally protected speech and ultimately ruling it unconstitutional.
Blount County, located just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, has held an annual pride event for the last three years at Maryville College.
The event is open to all without age restrictions, as most Pride festivals in the United States are.
Blount Pride board President Ari Baker said in a statement:
We are relieved that the court has taken action to ensure that law enforcement will not wrongly apply this unconstitutional law. This ruling allows us to fully realize Blount Pride’s goal of creating a safe place for LGBTQ people to connect, celebrate, and share resources.
Flamy Grant added:
This ruling confirms that despite continued attempts to remove LGBTQ people from public life, our First Amendment rights matter just as much as anyone else’s. Our fundamental right to exist as we are and to gather in celebration with our community is protected by the First Amendment on and off the stage.
And the ACLU-TN Legal Director Stella Yarbrough said:
This ruling reinforces that drag performance is constitutionally-protected expression under the First Amendment, regardless of where in the state it is performed. To anyone else seeking to restrict the constitutional right of drag performance—you’ll see us in court.
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