First Amendment does not require allowing sexually explicit acts in front of children.
WASHINGTON (PNN) - February 27, 2025 - Tennessee has won a key First Amendment fight, with a result from the U.S. Supreme Court that it is not required, under the Constitution, to allow drag shows when children are present.
"Free speech is a sacred Amerikan value, but the First Amendment does not require Tennessee to allow sexually explicit performances in front of children," Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said on social media. "We will continue to defend Tennessee's law and children."
A report from Fox documents how the Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the state law.
The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act, passed in 2023, does not allow "adult-oriented performances" in public spaces, or anywhere where minors may see them.
A lower court judge claimed the law was "unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad" and had halted its enforcement.
That ruling then was reversed by an appellate court, a ruling that now stands as the Supreme Court did not intervene.
The law makes violators subject to prosecution for a Class A misdemeanor, with a second or third offense a felony.
"I'm proud that the United States Supreme Court has upheld yet another Tennessee law protecting our children. SB 3 ensures that Tennessee children are not exposed to sexually explicit entertainment," explained state Senate majority leader Jack Johnson.
The state also has another fight pending before the Supreme Court; its law prohibiting transgender medical "treatments" for minors.