Judge Rules Drag Show with 'Lewd Sexual Acts' Can Take Place Very Close to Kid's Park

A U.S. District Judge has issued a preliminary injunction allowing a "grossly inappropriate, and sexually explicit drag show," to be held in view of children at a June 7 "pride" festival, a non-profit legal group reports.

As CBN News reported, Liberty Counsel filed a motion on behalf of three Collier County parents to keep the sexualized LGBTQ performance away from a children's playground. 

The Background in the Playground Case

The lawsuit came after the Naples City Council voted 5-2 in April to move the proposed drag show indoors away from Cambier Park, which is frequented by children, and to restrict the event to adults only. However, Naples Pride, an LGBT advocacy group, and the ACLU sued the city, claiming it violated their First Amendment rights by moving the event. The ACLU sought a preliminary injunction to overturn the city's location and age restrictions.

Earlier in May, a preliminary injunction hearing took place in U.S. District Court, where the city of Naples offered only one defense to its restrictions on the drag show. 

"The city noted that Cambier Park, which has a children's playground a mere 100 feet away from where Naples Pride wants to hold its drag show, is a limited public forum where permits are subject to reasonable and viewpoint neutral criteria," Liberty Counsel said in the statement. 

"While this is true, Liberty Counsel argues this defense leaves out more significant arguments that would require the court to deny the injunction in the interest of protecting children," it continued. 

They point out that Florida's "Protection of Children Act" of 2023 expressly outlaws public drag shows held in view of minors.

"Allowing a drag performance in open air and in full view of a busy children's playground would violate Florida law," Liberty Counsel said, noting that although a federal judge blocked enforcement of that law for a single Florida agency, the ruling "does not erase or suspend" the law itself. 

The group says the city failed to challenge Naples Pride's description of the drag show as "family friendly," and provided photos of a 2022 event held by the group just 100 feet from the playground that shows otherwise. 

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The images depict men in obscene drag costumes "performing lewd poses" and "simulating sexual acts" that are unsuitable for children. 

"The drag performers also invited children to place money in their waist bands like strippers in a bar as the men shook their over-stuffed brazier tops and 'twerked' their fish net-covered hind ends mimicking sexual activities no child should ever see," Liberty Counsel explains. "The scenes are revolting and totally inappropriate for children."

Liberty Counsel moved to intervene by seeking "party status" to directly defend parents' rights to shield their children from indecent material and uphold Florida Law. 

New Ruling Allows Drag Show Near Kids

But this week, U.S. District Judge John Steele sided with Naples Pride finding the drag show performance is "speech protected by the First Amendment," and denied Liberty Counsel's motion to step in and defend the interests of concerned parents.

He ruled based on the arguments presented to the court. While the court deemed that Liberty Counsel's motion was not filed soon enough before the injunction decision, it will consider later whether Liberty Counsel can intervene and defend the city and parents as litigation continues to fully decide the merits of the case.

Therefore, children at Cambier Park on June 7 will be exposed to sexually inappropriate content. 

Attorneys with the Liberty Counsel are disappointed with the ruling, but say they will not give up in the fight to protect children in Naples. 

"Unfortunately, the strongest defenses to the city's drag show restrictions were not presented to the court. Liberty Counsel will keep working to intervene in this case to give parents who wish to protect their children from obscene drag performances a fuller defense on the legal and constitutional issues left unspoken by the city of Naples," said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. 

"The First Amendment does not protect an obscene drag performance in full view of a children's playground, and Florida law outright bans it. Restricting speech for children that is otherwise protected for adults passes constitutional muster in the interest of protecting their well-being. Citizens do not have to tolerate obscene drag shows in view of their children," he continued.

Meanwhile, on a related aspect of the case, the judge did partially deny Naples Pride's challenge related to the city's permit process regarding security fees. 

Naples Pride asserted that the city assessed the drag show's security fees as higher than previous years, and challenged the city's entire permitting process as unconstitutional for giving officials "unbridled discretion" to restrict disfavored speech through those fees. 

Judge Steele noted that even if the city did assess higher fees due to the event's controversial nature, that alone would be "insufficient" to render the city's entire permitting process as unconstitutional.