Federal Court Rejects Challenge to Tennessee's Child Protection Law on Explicit Performances

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law designed to protect children from sexually explicit performances. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the group contesting the law, Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based theater group, lacked standing.

The law, passed by Tennessee's Republican-controlled state legislature in 2023 and signed by GOP Governor Bill Lee, aims to shield minors from sexually explicit drag shows and similar performances. The law specifically creates an offense for engaging in an adult cabaret performance on public property or in a location where it could be viewed by minors.

Key Points:

• The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there is no constitutional right to exhibit indecent material to minors.

• The law targets adult-oriented performances, restricting them from minors but not from adults.

• Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated the ruling, emphasizing the law’s misrepresentation and constitutional soundness.

Judge John Nalbandian, writing for the majority, stated, “There is no constitutional interest in exhibiting indecent material to minors. The only constitutionally protected expressions implicated by the law are adult-oriented performances that can be constitutionally restricted from minors but not from adults a narrow slice of speech.”

In contrast, Judge Andre Mathis dissented, arguing that the law infringes upon the First Amendment.

The law had been previously blocked in June 2023 by a federal judge who deemed it "unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad." However, the appeals court's decision overturned this block, allowing the law to be enacted.

Additional Facts:

• The Tennessee law aligns with long-standing legal standards prohibiting the exhibition of obscene material to children.

• Republican leaders in Tennessee have vocally supported the ruling, emphasizing the need to protect children from inappropriate content.

• The case dismissal reinforces states' rights to impose reasonable restrictions on the exposure of minors to sexually explicit material.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti praised the court’s ruling, stating, “Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act has been consistently misrepresented since its adoption. As the Court noted, Tennessee’s ‘harmful to minors’ standard is constitutionally sound and Tennessee can absolutely prohibit the exhibition of obscene material to children. The Court of Appeals focused on what the law actually says and ordered the case dismissed.”

Republican leadership echoed Skrmetti’s sentiments. House Majority Leader William Lamberth asserted, “Children should never be exposed to strip shows. In TN, they won’t be.”

The court’s decision marks a significant victory for advocates of the law, affirming the state's right to protect minors from exposure to sexually explicit content while maintaining respect for adult free expression.

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