drag shows

The popular restaurant chain Hamburger Mary's, which features drag waitresses and family-friendly drag performances, has won a legal battle after filing a lawsuit against Florida's drag show ban. The chain's Orlando, Fla., restaurant is seen on June 13.

Judge blocks a Florida law that would punish venues where kids can see drag shows

4:28pm June 27, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

The ruling, in a case brought by a Hamburger Mary's restaurant, pauses enforcement of the state's new "Protection of Children" law, which prohibits admitting children to an "adult live performance."

Drag artist Vidalia Anne Gentry speaks during a Feb. 14 news conference held by the Human Rights Campaign to draw attention to anti-drag bills in the Tennessee legislature.

National

A federal judge rejects Tennessee's anti-drag law as too broad and vague

12:12pm June 03, 2023

by The Associated Press

U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker says the first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional.

Julie Mabry, the owner of Houston's only lesbian bar, says her business is in jeopardy after the bar was denied insurance coverage. Mabry says the blame is due in part to an anti-drag show bill moving through the Texas Legislature.

Houston lesbian bar was denied insurance coverage for hosting drag shows, owner says

5:00am May 19, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

Julie Mabry, who opened Pearl Bar in 2013, said the bar was created to provide a safe space for those in Houston's LGBTQ+ community.

Politics & Government

Proposal would ban drag shows for people under 18 in North Carolina

3:54pm April 28, 2023

by Liam Kimbro

Forsyth County state Representative Jeff Zenger has filed a bill

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Members of the white nationalist group National Socialist Florida use a laser projector to display white nationalist and anti-LGBTQ images on the side of the CSX building and other high-rise buildings in Jacksonville, Fla.

In Florida, far-right groups look to seize the moment

10:51am March 10, 2023

A far-right group in Jacksonville, Fla., has been regularly projecting hate symbols onto downtown buildings. Groups like this look to capitalize on what they see as a favorable political climate.

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Flags fly over the state capitol, Friday, Feb.11, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Republican lawmakers there are working to restrict drag shows in the state.

At least 9 GOP-led state legislatures want to restrict or criminalize drag shows

7:06am February 08, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

Lawmakers in Tennessee are advancing a bill that would restrict drag show performances in the state. This bill and others like it threaten the LGBTQ community as well as businesses, critics say.