Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined an 18-state coalition in support of a Tennessee ban on public drag shows, a law passed by Tennessee lawmakers this summer currently being challenged in federal court.
A near-identical bill was introduced in Alabama this past legislative session, and while it failed to become law, the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, told Alabama Daily News Friday that were it reintroduced next session, it would have his full support.
Known as the Adult Entertainment Act, Tennessee’s law banning public drag shows – the first such law in the nation – was signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in March. Its implementation was halted in June, however, after a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional.
While the law is still being litigated in court, as of Thursday, it now has the official support of Marshall along with attorney generals from 17 other states.
“There is nothing unconstitutional about a state protecting children from sexually explicit performances,” Marshall said last week.
“Tennessee’s law is like many other longstanding laws that currently govern adult establishments. Contrary to Supreme Court precedent, the district court here was quick to attribute improper intentions to the Tennessee Legislature despite them having obvious and legitimate grounds to implement the law.”
The Tennessee law would make participating in drag shows within 1,000 feet of certain establishments like schools and parks a Class A misdemeanor for first-time offenders, punishable by up to a year in jail. A second offense would be a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison.
Alabama’s House Bill 401 would similarly prohibit any “sexual or gender oriented” demonstrations that include “lewd or lascivious dancing” by “drag queens or drag kings,” with first-time offenses carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
While HB401 saw considerable opposition from the LGBT community, it had garnered some support among lawmakers, with Rep. Mike Shaw, R-Hoover, saying that he anticipates a similar bill returning in the future.
“I’m sure someone will bring something like that up, and I strongly support any effort to keep adult-themed or explicitly sexual events from being viewed by minors and children; drag shows seem to have consistent themes of explicit sexuality that would fit under this category,” Shaw told ADN Friday.
“However, I do think we need to design the law very carefully to avoid infringing on legitimate and protected expression. So we need to be careful in writing the law; it should focus on sexually explicit performances.”