A federal judge stated Wednesday that his order to block a Florida law that targets drag shows does not only apply to the restaurant who brought the lawsuit against it, but also to other venues within the state. The judge reiterated that the legislation championed and supported by Governor. Ron DeSantis’s law is probably unconstitutional.

The state agency responsible for enforcing the law asked U.S. district judge Gregory Presnell to suspend his preliminary injunction until the trial to determine the constitutionality of the law is conducted. Meanwhile, the state appeals against the injunction.

Florida’s attorneys told the judge the preliminary injunction only applied to the Orlando restaurant who sued to have the law declared unconstitutional, and not to “nonparties”.

The judge dismissed this argument. He said that any harm to Florida would be minimal if the injunction remained in place and that since it is a matter of free speech, all Floridians could potentially be parties.

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Presnell wrote that “Plaintiff was not the only one injured by the Act. It has a chilling affect on all members who are within its reach.”

Owner of Hamburger Mary’s bar and restaurant in Orlando filed the complaint. The restaurant regularly hosted drag shows including family-friendly Sunday performances that children were invited. The owner of the restaurant said that the law was vague, overly broad and violated First Amendment freedoms by limiting speech.

Although it didn’t mention drag shows, the law was intended to punish venues that allowed children into “adult performances”. Venues who violated the law could face fines or have their liquor licenses suspended or revoked. A misdemeanor could be filed against an individual.

DeSantis, as Florida’s governor, was a strong advocate of anti-LGBTQ+ laws before he announced his presidential candidacy in 2024. He also signed bills that would restrict the use of pronouns by students and ban gender affirming care.