Ron DeSantis found one legal loophole that will shut down the woke judges protecting drag shows

Activist judges have been blocking Florida’s efforts to protect children from inappropriate content.

These left-wing jurists think drag shows are more important than parental rights.

But Ron DeSantis found one legal loophole that will shut down the woke judges protecting drag shows.

DeSantis administration uses Supreme Court ruling to outmaneuver leftist judges

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been fighting to protect children from sexually explicit drag performances for years.

But every time the state tries to enforce reasonable protections, left-wing judges step in to stop them.

Now DeSantis’s legal team has discovered a brilliant strategy to work around these activist judges.

Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office filed a motion at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that could change everything.

The motion focuses on a recent Supreme Court decision about President Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.

In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that federal judges can’t issue “universal injunctions” that block enforcement nationwide.

https://twitter.com/lord_tgoodwin/status/1953112143483621657

Florida’s lawyers are arguing the same principle should apply to state laws – meaning judges can’t issue statewide injunctions either.

“Such a stay will fully protect HM’s (Hamburger Mary’s) rights for the remainder of this appeal while allowing the state to enforce its duly enacted statute geared at protecting children in other establishments in the state,” the motion stated.¹

This legal strategy is absolutely brilliant.

Instead of letting one restaurant shut down enforcement for the entire state, Florida wants to limit the court order to only protect Hamburger Mary’s specifically.

Every other venue in Florida would have to follow the law protecting children from adult performances.

The motion argued that the Supreme Court ruling “clarified that authority was lacking not just for nationwide injunctions against federal statutes or executive orders, but also for statewide injunctions against state laws, like the one at issue in this case.”

Left-wing judges tried to gut Florida’s child protection law

The legal battle started when Hamburger Mary’s – a Central Florida restaurant that regularly hosts drag shows – challenged Florida’s 2023 Protection of Children Act.

The law prevents venues from admitting children to what it defines as “adult live performances.”

These performances include shows that “depict or simulate nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities . . . lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

Any reasonable person would agree that children shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of content.

But U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell sided with the drag restaurant and issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement across the entire state.

Presnell claimed the law “is specifically designed to suppress the speech of drag queen performers” and argued that Florida already has laws protecting children from obscene performances.

The judge even made the absurd argument that drag shows aren’t any worse than R-rated movies.

“This concern rings hollow, however, when accompanied by the knowledge that Florida state law, presently and independently of the instant (2023) statutory scheme, permits any minor to attend an R-rated film at a movie theater if accompanied by a parent or guardian,” Presnell wrote.

That comparison completely misses the point.

R-rated movies at theaters are controlled environments with age restrictions and parental supervision requirements.

Drag shows at restaurants and bars are entirely different situations where children can be exposed to live sexual performances without proper safeguards.

A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court upheld Presnell’s decision in May, claiming the law was “overly broad and vaguely written.”

Both the appeals court panel and the Supreme Court rejected Florida’s previous requests to stay the injunction in 2023.

But now DeSantis has a new legal weapon thanks to Trump’s Supreme Court victory on birthright citizenship.

Uthmeier takes the fight directly to woke venues

While the legal battle continues, Attorney General Uthmeier isn’t waiting around to protect Florida’s children.

Last month, his office subpoenaed records from the Kilted Mermaid restaurant in Vero Beach after it hosted an LGBTQ Pride event.

Uthmeier’s office claimed the event featured “adult, sexualized performers in front of children.”

“In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults,” Uthmeier stated in a press release that didn’t mince words about his priorities.

The subpoena demanded guest lists, reservation logs, surveillance video, and contracts identifying performers.

The restaurant owner, Linda Moore, happens to be the vice mayor of Vero Beach – showing how deeply the woke agenda has penetrated local government.

Moore refused to respond to requests for comment about why she thinks children should be exposed to adult sexual content.

This aggressive enforcement approach sends a clear message to venues across Florida.

Even if activist judges are blocking the law temporarily, the state will investigate and pursue any establishment that puts children at risk.

Businesses face potential fines and liquor license revocation if they violate the law once it’s enforceable again.

Local governments also can’t issue permits for events that expose children to inappropriate behavior.

The law protects children despite woke opposition

Florida’s Protection of Children Act came after the DeSantis administration cracked down on venues in South Florida and Central Florida where children were attending drag shows.

The law doesn’t specifically mention drag shows, but it clearly targets the kind of sexually explicit performances that have become common at these events.

Venues that violate the law face serious consequences – fines, liquor license suspension or revocation, and criminal misdemeanor charges for individuals.

But the Human Rights Campaign and other left-wing activist groups have fought the law every step of the way.

“The governor’s goal is for our community to censor our expression in accordance with the most extreme reading of the law,” complained Brandon Wolf from the Human Rights Campaign. “We must stand in support of drag performers and the small businesses that host them.”

Wolf’s statement perfectly captures the woke left’s twisted priorities.

They’re more concerned about protecting adult entertainers than safeguarding children from inappropriate sexual content.

This is the same mindset that has led to the explosion of inappropriate content in public schools and libraries across the country.

These activists want to groom children by exposing them to adult sexual themes at younger and younger ages.

DeSantis has consistently stood against this agenda.

“We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy,” DeSantis declared while defending the law.

He’s absolutely right that children shouldn’t be exposed to sexual content disguised as “entertainment.”

Florida leads the fight for parental rights

The legal battle over Florida’s drag show law represents a much larger cultural war happening across America.

On one side, you have parents who want to protect their children from age-inappropriate sexual content.

On the other side, you have woke activists and their allies in the federal judiciary who want to sexualize children in the name of “expression” and “diversity.”

DeSantis has positioned Florida as the leader in this fight for parental rights and child protection.

His administration’s clever legal strategy using the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling shows they’re not giving up.

If the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals accepts Florida’s argument, it could create a new precedent limiting activist judges’ ability to block state laws.

Instead of one restaurant shutting down enforcement for millions of Florida residents, the injunction would only apply to Hamburger Mary’s specifically.

Every other venue would have to comply with reasonable standards protecting children from sexual content.

The state’s request for a rehearing by the full appeals court is still pending from June.

But this new motion based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling gives Florida additional ammunition in the legal fight.

Florida parents deserve leaders who will fight for their children instead of caving to woke pressure groups.

DeSantis has proven once again that he’ll use every legal tool available to protect kids from inappropriate sexual content.

While other states surrender to activist judges, Florida keeps fighting for common sense and parental rights.

¹ Florida Attorney General’s Office motion, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, August 2025.