HELENA, Mont. — A federal judge in Montana has issued a temporary block on a new law that restricts drag performances just days before the 30th anniversary celebration of Montana Pride in Helena. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris stated that the law’s wording could disproportionately harm drag performers and individuals outside traditional gender and identity norms, including transgender people.
The contested law aims to prohibit minors from attending what it deems “sexually oriented” performances and bans such events in public places where minors might be present. However, the law lacks adequate definitions for key terms, leading to self-censorship out of fear of prosecution, according to plaintiff’s attorney Constance Van Kley.
The ruling now enables Montana Pride to proceed with advertising and holding some of its events in public places, said Kevin Hamm, the president of Montana Pride. The annual LGBTQ+ celebration, featuring a parade, street dance, and drag brunch, is scheduled to take place from Sunday through August 6.
The legal challenge against the law began on July 6, seeking a preliminary injunction to halt its implementation. As a result of the amended complaint, the city of Helena was added as a defendant and Montana Pride as a plaintiff to request the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order. The city of Helena supported the restraining order, highlighting the law’s potential infringement on Montana Pride’s constitutional rights of free expression if the permit was denied, or city employees could face civil and criminal liability for granting the permit.
Among the initial plaintiffs in the lawsuit are a transgender woman, two small theaters, and a bookstore that organizes drag queen reading events. The complaint characterizes the Montana law as “a breathtakingly ambiguous and overbroad bill, motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ animus.”
Judge Morris determined that the law lacks clear definitions for illegal actions and appears prone to encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. The law’s flawed approach, similar to previously blocked laws in Florida and Tennessee, regulates speech based on content and viewpoint without considering its potential literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Diana Bourgeois, president of the Imperial Sovereign Court of the State of Montana, an organization hosting drag reading events and one of the plaintiffs, emphasized that drag constitutes political and artistic speech. She hailed the court’s order as protective of their right to be commentators, artists, and creators of a safe and welcoming environment through their expression.
Montana, like several Republican-led states, has recently enacted other laws targeting transgender people, including banning gender-affirming care for minors and defining sex exclusively as “male” or “female” in state law.
Moreover, the Montana law specifically banned drag kings and drag queens, performers adopting flamboyant or parodic personas with glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup, from reading books to children in public schools or libraries, despite the performances lacking any sexual elements.
The judge pointed out the law’s ambiguity in terms like “flamboyant,” “parodic,” and “glamorous.”
An August 26 hearing is scheduled for the lawsuit’s request for a preliminary injunction, which could potentially continue blocking the law while the case proceeds.
The Department of Justice expressed readiness to present a written response and full argument during the upcoming preliminary injunction hearing to defend the law and protect minors from sexually oriented performances.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Braxton Mitchell, believes that keeping “hyper-sexualized events out of taxpayer-funded schools and libraries” does not violate the First Amendment, according to his statement.