WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) – A federal judge has ruled that Tennessee’s law restricting drag performances in public or where children were present was unconstitutional, striking a blow to efforts in U.S. states to regulate LGBTQ conduct.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in February had signed the bill passed by the state’s assembly that aimed to restrict drag performances, putting the state at the forefront of a Republican-led effort to limit drag in at least 15 states in recent months.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, ruled late on Friday that the law was “both unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad.” The First Amendment to the Constitution commands that laws infringing on freedom of speech must be narrow and well defined, Parker said in the 70-page ruling.
“Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech,” Parker said in the ruling.
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Under the law, offenders could face fines and up to a year in prison and repeat offenders could have faced prison sentences of up to six years.
Ahead of the 2024 elections, Republican lawmakers across the country have introduced more than 500 bills this year regulating the conduct of gay and transgender people, ranging from what can be taught in schools to bathroom use and medical care. At least 48 of those have passed, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group.
Parker had temporarily blocked the law on March 31, just before it was set to go into effect, siding with Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group that filed suit against the state.
GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, praised Parker’s decision. “This ruling is a turning point and we will not go back,” GLAAD said in a release.
“Every anti-LGBTQ elected official is on notice that these baseless laws will not stand and that our constitutional freedom of speech and expression protects everyone and propels our culture forward,” the group said.
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Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Eric Beech and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Timothy Gardner
Thomson Reuters
Timothy reports on energy and environment policy and is based in Washington, D.C. His coverage ranges from the latest in nuclear power, to environment regulations, to U.S. sanctions and geopolitics. He has been a member of three teams in the past two years that have won Reuters best journalism of the year awards. As a cyclist he is happiest outside.
Contact: +1 202-380-8348
2025 three-star running back Shekai Mills-Knight (Chattanooga, Tenn.) is a major target of the Tennessee Volunteers.
After a stellar junior campaign, Baylor School running back Shekai Mills-Knight came onto the scene as a national recruit. He ranks as the No. 543 prospect in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Tennessee has already landed Buford High School running back Justin Baker in the 2025 class but is open to taking another.
Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and running back De’Rail Sims visited Baylor on Thursday to check on Mills-Knight. There are several other programs in the running for his pledge, especially after this season. The Ole Miss Rebels are a team that’s made an impression; Auburn, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State have also jumped into this recruitment this spring. This is certainly one to monitor moving forward.
Tennessee’s 2025 Recruiting Class
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Tennessee basketball guard Jahmai Mashack. Photo By Ian Cox/Tennessee Athletics.
The rise of a familiar team from the SEC caused Tennessee to slightly fall back in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings this week.
Tennessee, previously at No. 18 in the rankings, was placed at No. 20 by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. The Vols fell two spots between the way-too-early rankings.
UCLA and Arkansas are the main culprits for Tennessee’s fall as the Bruins rose from No. 19 to No. 17 while Arkansas leaped from No. 25 to No. 19, one spot above the Vols.
“Dalton Knecht is gone, and with him goes Rick Barnes’ best offense in several years,” Borzello wrote for ESPN. “But if the more up-tempo, 3-point-heavy offensive system remains in Knoxville, there should be plenty of optimism. Zakai Zeigler is one of the best point guards in the country, and Jordan Gainey, Jahmai Mashack and Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar are plenty experienced on the perimeter. Barnes also addressed the frontcourt, adding Igor Milicic Jr. (Charlotte) and Felix Okpara (Ohio State).”
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Tennessee finished as the No. 5 team in the nation after an Elite Eight loss to Purdue but immediately was left to deal with the departure of a likely Top 10 NBA Draft pick, two key fifth-year seniors, and two big men who entered the transfer portal. As Borzello mentions, though, Tennessee reloaded through the transfer portal in Barnes’ biggest transfer class that Rick Barnes has assembled in Knoxville.
The Vols prioritized size in the portal with the addition of 6-foot-4 guard Bishop Boswell from the recruiting cycle. Dubar is a versatile wing while Milicic is an impressive stretch four at 6-foot-9. Okpara, meanwhile, is a true center with size at 6-foot-11, 235 pounds.
More from RTI: What Rick Barnes Has Said About Tennessee Basketball’s Transfer Signings
Tennessee’s drop to the back half of the rankings makes sense. The Vols’ 2023 team was loaded with veterans, many of whom had been playing together and building to that final season for a few years. Add in pure shooters Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey from the portal and you had yourselves a legitimate second-weekend team. Tennessee did add talent but it’s unknown how everything will mesh together. So it’s fair to drop the Vols back a bit. It is only May, after all.
A day after Borzello released his way-too-early Top 25, the ESPN expert listed Tennessee as a four-seed in his early bracketology picks as the third-highest ranked team from the SEC behind three-seed Auburn and three-seed Alabama. That indicates that Borzello’s mindset might relay that Tennessee is a team that might not have all of their chemistry down early into the season but can come together under Barnes’ leadership by the end of the season.
Tennessee is the sixth team in the SEC behind No. 6 Alabama, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Auburn, No. 15 Florida, and No. 19 Arkansas but in front of No. 21 Texas.
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As John Calipari’s debut roster has come together at Arkansas, the Razorbacks have now inched out early positioning over Tennessee. The Razorbacks are bringing in Tennessee’s Jonas Aidoo, Kentucky’s Adou Thiero, Florida Atlantic’s Johnell Davis, and two Top 26 recruits for their starting lineup.
To see Jeff Borzello’s way-too-early rankings, click here.
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee used four home runs in a 9-3 win over the University of South Carolina baseball team Thursday night (May 16) in the first of a three-game series against the Volunteers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Ethan Petry opened the scoring with his 20th home run of the season, a solo shot to left in the first inning. Tennessee answered with Christian Moore’s 25th home run, tying the game at one after one inning of play. Tennessee scored four runs the third on home runs from Moore and Kavares Tears.
The Volunteers went up 6-1 in the fourth on Blake Burke’s RBI double, but Cole Messina got that run back in the sixth with a solo home run over the batter’s eye in center.
Tennessee scored three runs in the seventh, highlighted by a Dylan Dreiling two-run home run. Dalton Reeves brought in the game’s final run in the eighth on a single up the middle.
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Ty Good took the loss, allowing five hits and six runs with four strikeouts in four innings. Tyler Pitzer had four strikeouts in three innings. Petry, Messina and Reeves had two hits apiece with Messina scoring two runs.
POSTGAME NOTES
Petry now has 43 career home runs, tied for sixth in Carolina history.
Petry has a 12-game hit streak after the home run in the first.
Good now has 341 career strikeouts between Carolina and the College of Charleston.
UP NEXT Carolina and Tennessee continue the three-game set on Friday night (May 17) at 6:30 p.m., at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The game will be stream
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