The ACLU sued on behalf of drag performer Flamy Grant and Blount Pride after District Attorney General Ryan Desmond warned them of possible prosecution in a letter.
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. District Court Judge J. Ronnie Greer issued a ruling blocking Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond from enforcing Tennessee’s “Adult Entertainment Act,” at a festival celebrating the Blount County LGBTQ+ community on Saturday.
Greer’s order said Desmond cannot enforce, detain, arrest or seek warrants to enforce the act and cannot interfere with Blount Pride’s festival.
The Adult Entertainment Act makes it unlawful to perform “adult cabaret entertainment,” on public property or in a place where children can see. The Act defines “male or female impersonators” as adult cabaret entertainment, a classification that the ACLU said targets drag performers.
In Shelby County, earlier this summer, District Judge Thomas L. Parker ruled it unconstitutional, saying it violated First Amendment rights, and barred the attorney general there from enforcing it. The District Attorney’s Office appealed that decision, and the Memphis-area lawsuit is going through the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Their ruling would apply across all districts in Tennessee.
“Judge Parker’s 70-page opinion is well-written, scrupulously researched, and highly persuasive,” Judge Greer wrote. “The court, based on the parties’ arguments at this juncture in the proceedings sees no reason to ‘break new ground’ on the constitutional issues.”
District Attorney General Desmond sent a letter to Blount Pride arguing Blount Pride was “marketing itself in a manner which raises concerns that the event may violate certain criminal statutes within the State of Tennessee.” His office would prosecute violations of the Adult Entertainment Act, Desmond wrote.
The ACLU sued Desmond and other law enforcement in Blount County, to prevent enforcement of the law. Desmond’s office released a statement about the injunction, available below.
“My office will abide by the order of Judge Greer. We are a nation of laws and this ruling is controlling over my office and our jurisdiction. As such, we will respect and comply with the order of the Court.”
Judge Greer ordered parties involved in the lawsuit to appear at the James H. Quillen Courthouse in Greeneville, Tenn. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, for a preliminary injunction hearing.
Blount Pride previously said the event would go on as planned on Saturday. It starts at 1 p.m. at the Claxton Center in Maryville on Saturday.
A statement from Blount Pride board president Ari Baker is also available below.
“We are relieved that the court has taken action to ensure that law enforcement will not wrongly apply this unconstitutional law. This ruling allows us to fully realize Blount Pride’s goal of creating a safe place for LGBTQ people to connect, celebrate, and share resources. We appreciate the community support and look forward to celebrating with you all on Saturday.”
I have always enjoyed Ethel’s videos. I have been watching them since she was a teen. She is passionate, yet she not only well versed in the subject she speaks on, but includes all her resources in the channel notes so anyone can double check what she says if they disagree with her. She has a slight speech impediment but the closed caption is great.
The story of Luna and her rabid anti-trans Christian father is a story I have followed since I heard it when Luna was around 7 or 8, and of the horrible abuse anti-trans fanatics will go too against letting a child be themselves. Despite court orders and against the child’s will he forcibly cut her hair, he refused to even allow girl’s clothing in his home and when she came to his home when he still had court ordered visitation would make her strip in the doorway after it was closed and go to the room assigned to her and put on male clothing. He then would destroy the girl clothing in front of her. Remember, at this point she was only socially transitioning, and he simply wouldn’t allow it. His parental rights were removed because of his refusal to follow court orders and treat Luna as the girl she was. And as is normal for Anti-trans haters he would go on the anti-trans Christian circuit and lie his ass off on everything. For an example he would say his wife only took Luna to one pro-trans mental health doctor when in fact she saw four or five, two were ones he insisted on including a Christian practitioner. They all agreed that Luna identified a girl. But his denial abuse got so bad that the girl and her mother fled the state and moved to California to be safe, a court approved move. But this is a man who would rather lose his child or see them dead than admit they might not be the gender that glancing between their legs at birth was assigned to them. Hugs
[Script & References] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J… [Chapters] 00:00 – Intro & Content Warning 01:28 – Jeff Damon Younger 16:01 – The Ministry of ‘Truth’ Film Festival 18:42 – Jeff Damon Younger Boasts About Turning Luna Into A Refugee 32:48 – Jeff Damon Younger’s Antisemitism [Social Media]
House Bill 900 requires book vendors to rate all their materials based on their depictions or references to sex before selling them to schools. Vendors say the law aims to regulate protected speech with “vague and over broad” terms.
Books at Vandegrift High School’s library on March 2, 2022. A federal judge said Thursday he will temporarily block a new state law that would require book vendors to rate the materials they sell to school libraries based on the presence of sex depictions or references. Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune
A federal judge said Thursday he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for a group who sued over the proposal.
District Judge Alan D. Albright indicated during a hearing that he will grant a temporary injunction sought by a group of book groups and sellers, including two Texas bookstores, who sued the state over House Bill 900 in July, the group’s lawyers said in a statement. Albright will issue a written order in one to two weeks; in the meantime, the state cannot enforce the law, according to the statement.
HB 900, which was approved during this year’s regular legislative session, requires school library vendors to rate all their books and materials for appropriateness before selling them to schools based on the presence of sex depictions or references. It also requires vendors to rank materials previously sold to schools and issue a recall for those that are deemed sexually explicit and are in active use by a school.
The plaintiffs argue that the law violates their constitutional rights by targeting protected speech with its broad and vague language. The lawsuit further alleges HB 900 would force plaintiffs to comply with the government’s views, even if they do not agree with them, and that the law operates as prior restraint, which is government action that prohibits speech or other expression before the speech happens. The vendors say it is impossible for them to comply with the rating system because of the sheer volume of materials they would need to review.
The law also calls for creating state school library standards that prohibit sexually explicit materials, requiring parental consent for students to check out materials classified by vendors as “sexually relevant” and giving the Texas Education Agency authority to review a vendor’s rating. If the TEA disagrees with the vendor’s rating and gives it a different one, the vendor must use the agency’s rating. Vendors who do not will be added to a list of vendors that schools cannot buy library materials from.
During the bill’s legislative hearings, librarians and legal experts shared concerns and worries that its language would ensnare books that are not inappropriate and, to the contrary, may be titles important for students whose lived experiences may not be reflected in other literature.
The proposal, from Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, arrived amid an ongoing debate about what materials are appropriate to be stocked in school and public libraries. Patterson and supporters of such regulations say libraries are infested with inappropriate books that must be vetted and removed.
However, skeptics of that panic and literary advocates counter that the books singled out by politicians often explore sexuality and race, topics that have been swept up in culture-war politics but remain important for youth who may not be comfortable talking about such matters with others.
Despite the concerns, HB 900 sailed through the legislative process before Gov. Greg Abbott signed it in June. It was set to go into effect Friday; however, the law’s language suggests the new requirements won’t have to be fulfilled immediately.
Most, if not all, of the state’s roughly 5.4 million public schoolchildren have already begun the 2023-2024 school year.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include two bookstores, Austin’s BookPeople and West Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop, as well as the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
The Texas Attorney General’s office said Thursday it would move to reverse the injunction and appeal the judge’s decision. The office had not received the judge’s written order or decision by Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson said.
A court representative for Albright did not respond to an inquiry about his comments during Thursday’s hearing, reported by the plaintiffs’ lawyers and on social media by at least one plaintiff.
“We are grateful for the court’s swift action in deciding to enjoin this law, in the process preserving the long-established rights of local communities to set their own standards; protecting the constitutionally protected speech of authors, booksellers, publishers and readers; preventing the state government from unlawfully compelling speech on the part of private citizens; and shielding Texas businesses from the imposition of impossibly onerous conditions,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement after the hearing. “We look forward to reading the court’s full opinion once it is issued.”
What a way to entice young people to come to your church or endorse your religion by screaming hate and angry virtual at them. What a great way to save souls. What this really is meant to show what they think is their superior morals and showcase their bigotry / hate. It is driven by right wing media anti-LGBTQIA propaganda. It is fueled by conservative preachers that can not adjust to the modern age, preferring a time when only cis straight people who dressed more modestly were in public and young people deferred to adults as a normal practice. Hugs
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As students were released from McCallum High School Tuesday afternoon, the district confirms roughly eight people stood outside with anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion signs.
“The protesters were on the sidewalk but were blocking the buses, so they were asked to move,” a spokesperson for AISD said. “Austin ISD Police officers were on-site to ensure everyone’s safety, and the protesters left after about an hour.”
KXAN does not share photos or videos of possible hate speech as standard practice, which is why we have not included photos in this story and blurred signs in the video above.
“Instead we need to be standing up and saying that everyone belongs, and this is a community for everyone,” said Council Member Alison Alter of District 10.
Alter said the goal is twofold: One, to make reporting a hate crime easier and two, to connect people with resources and support.
“{The We All Belong website} tells you when to call 911, when to use IReport,” Alter said. “Not every hate crime or hate incident is the same, but people do need to report.”
You can also partner with the city to host a pop-up event through the program. The city will provide materials and messaging for the event. You can apply to host an event here. Some funding is available.
“Take action in the form of having those hard community conversations or creating a space where people can come together and celebrate,” Alter said. She continued: “Fight hate with love, fight hate with light.”
The district said school counselors will be on standby for students at McCallum upset about the Tuesday incident.
That’s a complicated question to answer. In this episode, @TraeCrowderLiberalRedneck looks into why the history of slavery through the lens of party lines can be confusing and how the “Southern strategy” comes into play.
The American South is a complicated place, and we know a lot less about it than we think we do. And many things about the South that seem to make no sense are less confounding in context. The reality is the history of many Southern things has been manipulated, hidden, or just plain ignored. Trae Crowder guides us through the pride points, failures, and contradictions in “Southin’ Off.”
We all have a pretty skewed image of what “Southerner” means. @TraeCrowderLiberalRedneck takes a look at who the real Southerners are and how our views got so skewed. The American South is a complicated place, and we know a lot less about it than we think we do. And many things about the South that seem to make no sense are less confounding in context. The reality is the history of many Southern things has been manipulated, hidden, or just plain ignored. Trae Crowder guides us through the pride points, failures, and contradictions in “Southin’ Off.”
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Scottie's Playtime 