{"id":2640594,"date":"2026-08-04T20:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T00:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-upholds-florida-law-banning-drag-shows-for-children\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T20:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T00:11:19","slug":"appeals-court-upholds-florida-law-banning-drag-shows-for-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-upholds-florida-law-banning-drag-shows-for-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court upholds Florida law banning drag shows for children"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fappeals-court-upholds-florida-law-banning-drag-shows-for-children%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2640594&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld Florida\u2019s 2023 Protection of Children act, which bans minors from attending sexually explicit performances, including drag shows. The law was challenged by Hamburger Mary\u2019s restaurant, claiming it unconstitutionally restricted children\u2019s access to drag performances. Despite earlier rulings that found the law unconstitutional, the full 11th Circuit reversed those decisions in an 8-5 vote, stating the law is constitutional as it regulates material obscene for minors under rational basis review. The majority opinion argued the law is rationally related to protecting children\u2019s wellbeing and is not overly broad or vague. Dissents criticized the ruling, with one judge describing the law as unconstitutionally vague and a \u201cmess-around-and-find-out\u201d statute designed to chill drag performances. Florida officials praised the ruling as a victory, emphasizing the law&#8217;s importance for child protection.The restaurant may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1537\">appeals court<\/a> upheld <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"159\">Florida\u2019s<\/a> ban on children attending sexually explicit performances, including drag shows, as lawful, tossing out rulings from lower courts that had found the ban unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Florida lawmakers passed the Protection of Children Act in 2023, which made it a misdemeanor to allow minors into live performances that feature nudity, sexual content, and lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, among other sexually explicit depictions. The law was immediately met with a lawsuit by the restaurant Hamburger Mary\u2019s, which claimed it unconstitutionally banned children from attending drag shows that the restaurant hosts. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/media.ca11.uscourts.gov\/opinions\/pub\/files\/202312160.enb.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/media.ca11.uscourts.gov\/opinions\/pub\/files\/202312160.enb.pdf\">upheld<\/a> the law in an 8-5 ruling, tossing out a federal district court\u2019s ruling finding the law unconstitutional. A three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3410052\/florida-drag-show-ban-children-law-unconstitutional-federal-court\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3410052\/florida-drag-show-ban-children-law-unconstitutional-federal-court\/\">found the law unconstitutional last year<\/a>, but that ruling was also tossed out by the full bench of the 11th Circuit.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4674952\/peter-navarro-rehearing-jan-6-committee-contempt\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump trade adviser seeks full court rehearing in Jan. 6 committee contempt case<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4674809\/wisconsin-judge-paper-absentee-ballots-discriminate-disabled-voters\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Wisconsin judge rules paper absentee ballots discriminate against disabled voters<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4674462\/doj-charges-19-in-alleged-4-million-philadelphia-medicaid-fraud-case-as-fraud-strike-force-tops-45-billion-nationally\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DOJ charges 19 in alleged $4 million Philadelphia Medicaid fraud case as fraud strike force tops $45 billion nationally<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause the Act is neither overbroad nor vague and regulates only material obscene for minors, it receives rational basis review,\u201d Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher, a nominee of President Donald Trump, wrote for the majority. \u201cUnder that standard, a law will be upheld \u2018if there is any reasonably conceivable state of facts that could provide a rational basis\u2019 for its enactment. There is no doubt the Act is rational. We will not secondguess the Florida Legislature\u2019s decision to regulate obscenity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPreventing children from <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >attending adult live performances obscene<\/a> for them is rationally related to Florida\u2019s interest in safeguarding the well-being of minors,\u201d the ruling continues. \u201cAlthough Hamburger Mary\u2019s argues that the Act serves no legitimate purpose because it overlaps with Florida\u2019s other obscenity laws, there is nothing constitutionally suspect about overlapping criminal statutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Circuit Judge Britt Grant, a Trump nominee, wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, also a Trump nominee, in which he wrote that he felt the majority did not need to rule on whether the district court exceeded its power by granting a universal injunction against the law. Grant said he would have only upheld the law as constitutional and avoided ruling on the lower court\u2019s ability to issue a broad injunction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were two dissents written in the case, with the principal dissent written by Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum, a nominee of former President Barack Obama. Rosenbaum said the ruling embraces a \u201cmess-around-and-find-out First Amendment jurisprudence\u201d where \u201ca citizen can learn whether a law prohibits their speech only by taking a wild guess, presenting their speech, and then seeing if they get arrested and face imprisonment, thousands of dollars in fines, and loss of their business license.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFlorida purposely created a mess-around-and-find-out statute to chill drag. And the Act is unconstitutionally vague by design,\u201d Rosenbaum wrote, arguing the law violates the First Amendment. \u201cYet today we uphold it, anyway. The Constitution does not countenance our determination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4664455\/parental-rights-issues-heating-up-supreme-court\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4664455\">PARENTAL RIGHTS ISSUES ARE HEATING UP AT THE SUPREME COURT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGJamesUthmeier\/status\/2084668048112341393\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGJamesUthmeier\/status\/2084668048112341393\">celebrated<\/a> the ruling, calling it a \u201chuge victory\u201d and adding that \u201cafter 3 years of litigation, the full court affirmed the constitutionality of Florida\u2019s ban on children attending sexualized drag shows.\u201d Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who signed the Protection of Children Act into law, also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RonDeSantis\/status\/2084700102925402211\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RonDeSantis\/status\/2084700102925402211\">heralded<\/a> the ruling, adding that the ban \u201cshouldn\u2019t even be controversial, yet our law protecting kids required us to fend off lawsuits and win a case before a divided appellate court.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The restaurant that sued over the law could still appeal the case to the Supreme Court in the coming months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court upholds Florida\u2019s drag show ban for minors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2640595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23285570297917-1.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[33429,83699,58772,39490,33240],"class_list":["post-2640594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-age-restrictions","tag-drag-ban","tag-florida-law","tag-legal-rulings","tag-lgbtq-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23285570297917-1.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2640598,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640594\/revisions\/2640598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2640595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}