District Court Judge Brian Morris said the law targets free speech and expression.
Montana's law on drag performers is designed to protect children, but has been challenged on free speech grounds. | AP Photo/John RaouxHELENA, Mont. — A federal judge in Montana is continuing to block enforcement of a law that puts restrictions on drag shows and bans drag reading events in public schools and libraries, saying Friday that the law targets free speech and expression and that the text of the law and its legislative history “evince anti-LGBTQ+ animus.
Protecting minors from divergent gender expression is not the same as protecting minors from obscene speech, attorney Constance Van Kley argued for the plaintiffs during the Aug. 28 hearing.“The state hasn’t argued meaningfully that the speech targeted by — beyond the obscenity already regulated — is potentially harmful to children,” the plaintiffs argued in court filings.
“No evidence before the Court indicates that minors face any harm from drag-related events or other speech and expression critical of gender norms,” Morris wrote in granting the injunction.Morris had granted a temporary restraining order against the law in late July, in time to allow Montana Pride to hold its 30th annual celebration in Helena without concerns about violating the law.
The law also made Montana the first state to specifically ban drag kings and drag queens — which it defined as performers who adopt a flamboyant or parodic male or female persona with glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup — from reading books to children in public schools or libraries, even if the performances do not have a sexual element.Enforcement can include fines for businesses if minors attend a “sexually oriented performance.
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