Some Idiot Tennessee DA Thinks He’s Going To Enforce Drag Ban Even A Trump Judge Called Stupid
Can't wait to read his legal arguments.
Y’all remember earlier this year when the garbage bigot Republicans of the Tennessee Legislature had one of their little Christian fascist tantrums and tried to ban drag shows? A group of drag performers in Memphis called Friends of Georges sued because, as written, the law made no sense, was absurdly overbroad, and was a First Amendment nightmare. God didn’t make Tennessee Republican lawmakers very smart, y’all.
A Trump-appointed judge, Thomas Parker, agreed. Not that Tennessee Republicans are dipshits, but that the law was crap.
You see, Christian conservative Republicans are so high on their own rage against imaginary bullshit, they thought vaguely banning “adult cabaret entertainment” would somehow ban drag shows — even though they didn’t actually mention drag in the law — because aren’t drag shows basically porn? (We’ve said it a thousand times, but we’ll say it again: If drag shows get you hard, that’s about you.)
Parker found that the ban was a supremely unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech. And the next day there was a Pride parade in Memphis and there were drag performers everywhere and goodness had prevailed.
Now, a district attorney on the other side of the state in Blount County, some pigfuck idiot named Ryan Desmond, has informed organizers at Blount Pride that he intends to enforce the law.
According to Desmond’s letter, the (Trump) judge’s ruling only applies to Shelby County, where Memphis is. Ergo, the rest of the state can enforce it (even though a Trump judge called it a poorly written, unconstitutional piece of shit).
Blount Pride is scheduled for this Saturday in Maryville, Tennessee, at Maryville College. They’re still gonna have it, don’t worry.
And it’s Pride, so of course there’ll be drag performances. Some drag performers will even read books out loud to kids! Flamy Grant — remember that cool-as-shit drag queen who does Amy Grant songs and rocketed to the top of the Christian iTunes charts recently? — is going to perform.
Is Desmond technically correct? The Tennessee attorney general appealed to the Sixth Circuit, so yes, right now it technically only applies to Shelby County. However, it remains a fact that the law is a poorly written, unconstitutional piece of shit, according to that Trump judge.
And now, congrats, dumbass, because the ACLU just sued, naming Blount Pride and Flamy Grant as plaintiffs. Defendants are Desmond, some country sheriffs and the attorney general of Tennessee. In their suit they note that Desmond has not explained why he thinks the idiot law is constitutional. We’re certainly looking forward to reading those legal babblings.
The ACLU notes that the drag stuff planned for Blount Pride is innocent and family-friendly, as so much drag is. Therefore it makes no sense that Desmond should believe this law should apply. You know, unless he is just a big dumb bigot who thinks the very existence of LGBTQ+ people in public is inappropriate for children.
We don’t know Desmond personally and therefore do not know his heart, but it’s crucial to point out every time that that’s exactly what the current fascist Christian crusade against LGBTQ+ people is about. It’s about the very existence of LGBTQ+ people. It’s fucking genocidal.
Here are some quotes from Blount Pride, Flamy Grant and ACLU-TN legal director Stella Yarbrough:
“Our goal with Blount Pride has always been simply to provide a safe place for LGBTQ people to connect, celebrate, and share resources,” Blount Pride board president Ari Baker said. “We’ve worked hard to create a supportive Pride celebration, but now we are worried that law enforcement wrongly thinks this anti-drag law applies to our event. We are filing this lawsuit to protect that space and our entertainers’ ability to perform. We appreciate community members’ support and we encourage families to attend and celebrate with us on Saturday.”
Grant added to Baker’s statement, defending drag as an ancient artform that can help people connect.
“Drag is an ancient art form, and I have seen how it can help build community, hold space, and connect people,” Grant said. “I joined this lawsuit to ensure that I can continue performing in Tennessee, because I have seen how drag speaks to people who simply want to belong and be loved, making them feel safe and supported. That’s all I want my art to do.”
This sentiment was echoed by the ACLU in the lawsuit, which points out that most drag shows do not include sexual content or revealing outfits. […] In part because of the response to what is intended to be a family-friendly event, the ACLU-TN’s legal director, Stella Yarbrough, said Desmond is trying to erase LGBTQ+ people from public life.
“Threatening to enforce this unconstitutional law amounts to a harmful attempt to remove LGBTQ people from public life, which is simply unacceptable,” Yarbrough said. “The court has made it abundantly clear that drag performance is constitutionally-protected expression under the First Amendment, regardless of where in the state it is performed.”
Those are some good quotes, and Yarbrough nailed it. They all did.
So this is the latest bullshit LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee get to endure while Christian fascists debate their existence.
Blount County is just south of Knoxville, kind of spanning between the southern Knoxville suburbs and the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, where Dollywood is. It includes some nice people, especially in the aforementioned Maryville. It also in 2015 included this asshole named Karen Miller, who during her time as a Blount County commissioner tried to pass a resolution beseeching God to please smite the gayer surrounding counties when it’s time for Him to do the Tennessee Waltz version of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And as you have seen, it includes DA Ryan Desmond, a pigfuck.
It’s a mixed bag.
Nice Times Update by Dok Zoom: A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order blocking Pigfuck Guy from enforcing the drag ban or otherwise interfering with the parade, happy weekend!
[WVLT / also too / Update: Law Dork]
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You know if drag queens turned kids gay, I'd have expected a lot more men of my generation to be gay furries from watching Bugs Bunny.
LOL - it took less than a day for yearbook images of this doofus to appear on social media, in costume with a (male) friend as Adam and Eve. So I guess his feelings on drag have "evolved," or he secretly hated that friend.
Also, I bet this guy has some interesting items in his internet history. Dickheads who obssess over this stuff ALWAYS DO.