WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The U.S. Supreme Court has opted not to reverse a ban on letting Florida enforce its law requiring that drag shows keep out children, with Trump-appointed Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joining liberals in citing procedural grounds.
In May, Republican Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis signed legislation empowering the state to “fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public lodging establishment or public food service establishment” that “admits a child to an adult live performance,” meaning “any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience” that “depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or [other sexual activities] listed in the state code.”
The law forced a number of establishments to cancel drag events, one of whom sued on First Amendment grounds, securing an injunction by a federal district court and provoking a legal question as to whether the injunction should have applied statewide or just to the plaintiff. Florida has appealed that ruling to the Eleventh Circuit, but in the meantime also asked the Supreme Court to issue a partial stay of the injunction that would allow the law to keep being enforced against businesses not involved in the lawsuit.
On Thursday, nation’s highest court denied that request, with Kavanaugh penning a statement claiming that the case was “therefore an imperfect vehicle for considering the general question of whether a district court may enjoin a government from enforcing a law against non-parties to the litigation,” and that the Supreme Court “is not likely to grant certiorari” solely on this specific technical question (as opposed to the broader First Amendment issues before the Eleventh Circuit).
Barrett included a footnote partly concurring, citing the technical nuances of the federal Administrative Procedures Act. The Court’s three most conservative members, Bush-appointed Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, all said they would have granted Florida’s application for a stay.
The governor’s office is “disappointed in this particular ruling,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said, while stressing that it “did not opine on the merits of our law protecting children” and expressing confidence that the drag law will ultimately “be upheld on the merits.”
“Our brief is due November 24th, and litigation, as to the constitutionality of statue, will move forward,” added Kylie Mason, communications director for Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
The majority of the current justices were appointed by the last two Republican presidents, but their jurisprudence has been mixed. The Supreme Court has delivered conservatives major victories on gun rights, environmental regulation, affirmative action, and most significantly abortion with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, but they have also disappointed conservatives with dismissive rulings on COVID-19 vaccine mandates, religious freedom, and LGBT accommodation, to the point that Alito and Gorsuch have taken the rare step of criticizing Barrett and Kavanaugh for lacking the “fortitude” to resolve such issues.