Free Republic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee's version of not allowing drag queens and kings in public settings has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in Memphis, according to a ruling filed late Friday night. The ruling was determined based on the First Amendment and freedom of speech.

A federal judge blocked a Tennessee law on Friday that would have limited drag queens’ performances in front of children, one day before it was scheduled to take effect on April 1.Granting a temporary restraining order to Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group that brought the lawsuit to court, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker ruled that the law’s enforcement would be blocked for two weeks. He described the legislation as “likely both vague and overly-broad.”“Does a citizen’s private residence count? How about a camping ground at a national park? What if a minor browsing the world wide web...

A federal court on Friday ruled that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority by halting evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed (pdf) with a lower court ruling that said the CDC engaged in federal overreach with the eviction moratorium, which the agency has consistently extended for months. Several weeks ago, the CDC announced it would allow the policy, which was passed into law by Congress, to expire at the end of July.“It is not our job as judges to make legislative rules that favor one side...

The Biden administration’s plan to distribute post-pandemic farm loan relief to non-white farmers was hit with another legal defeat on Thursday.District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson of the Western District of Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction to halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving forward with the loan payment plan that excluded white farmers and ranchers.“The Court finds that Plaintiff has shown a substantial likelihood that he will prevail on his claim that Section 1005 violates his right to equal protection under the law,” the decision states. “Absent action by the Court, socially disadvantaged farmers will obtain debt relief,...