Tennessee enacts nation’s first law restricting drag shows, bans gender-affirming care for youth

Tennessee on Thursday became the first state to enact a law explicitly targeting drag shows, while also joining a growing list of GOP-led states to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.

The drag show provision criminalizes performances that take place in public or where they could be seen by children.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed both measures into law on Thursday without comment. His office did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Senate Bill 3, the drag ban, prohibits “adult cabaret performances” from taking place within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks or places of worship. The new law, effective April 1, builds on existing restrictions on “adult-oriented businesses” in Tennessee, expanding the state’s obscenity laws to include performances that feature topless or exotic dancers or “male or female impersonators” that provide entertainment appealing “to a prurient interest.”