Florida state officials filed a notice of appeal on Tuesday after a state judge granted an injunction for Hamburger Mary’s last week against the Protection of Children law.
Friday’s ruling paused the law, which allows state agencies to fine or revoke the license of venues that allow children into performances where sexually explicit live performances are held.
Recommended Videos
Hamburger Mary’s — a drag show venue in Orlando — sued the state and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last month in federal court, with the owners claiming the law is too vague and broad to satisfy the requirements of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that it has a chilling effect on protected speech.
Additionally, Hamburger Mary’s claimed that the law dissuaded customers from attending its performances, cutting into the venue’s revenue.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
“We obviously had to stop allowing people to bring their children in and the moment we announced that 20% of our bookings went down on Sunday and cancelations and then the following Sunday, so it is taking a hit on the business,” owner John Paonessa told News 6 last month.
In a response filed on June 2, the state attorney said Hamburger Mary’s wouldn’t be impacted by the law, as it doesn’t host “adult live performances.” Instead, officials explained that the law was aimed at live performances with sexually explicit content.
“Hamburger Mary’s claims it has excluded children from its performances because of the act, but it also claims no intention to host performances that even arguably would require it to exclude children,” the defendants wrote.
The judge wrote in the ruling that the plaintiff Hamburger Mary’s “fifteen years of incident-free, harmless drag shows demonstrates the absence of any substantial harm to Defendant or to the public interest.”
“Moreover, existing obscenity laws provide Defendant with the necessary authority to protect children from any constitutionally unprotected obscene exhibitions or shows. The harm to Plaintiff clearly outweighs any purported evils not covered by Florida law and a preliminary injunction would not be adverse to the public interest,” the judge wrote.
Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Gov. DeSantis, told News 6 that the ruling was wrong and that the state would be appealing the decision.
“Of course it’s constitutional to prevent the sexualization of children by limiting their access to adult live performances. We believe the judge’s opinion is dead wrong and look forward to prevailing on appeal,” he said.
The state officially filed its appeal against the injunction on Tuesday.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: