SALT LAKE CITY —

The city of St. George must issue a permit for a Utah-based group that organizes drag performances to host an all-ages drag show in a public park, a federal judge ruled, calling the city's attempt to stop the show unconstitutional discrimination.

Related video above: Federal judge rules Tennessee’s anti-drag show law is ‘unconstitutional’

"Public spaces are public spaces. Public spaces are not private spaces. Public spaces are not majority spaces," U.S. District Judge David Nuffer wrote in a Friday ruling granting the preliminary injunction requested by the group. "The First Amendment of the United States Constitution ensures that all citizens, popular or not, majority or minority, conventional or unconventional, have access to public spaces for public expression."

Southern Utah Drag Stars and its CEO, Mitski Avalōx, sued the city of St. George in May after the city denied the group permits for an all-ages show it aimed to host in a public park in April. A complaint filed in federal court accused city officials of "flagrant and ongoing violations of their free speech, due process, and equal protection rights," and asked for St. George to reverse its decision and authorize a drag show at the end of June.

A city events coordinator told Drag Stars, Avalōx said, that the group could start advertising for the April show before obtaining a permit. The city council later denied the permit, citing a never-previously-enforced ordinance that forbids advertising before permit approval.

The permit denial based on that ordinance, Nuffer wrote in his ruling, was a pretext for discrimination.

"Public officials take an oath to 'support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Utah,'" Nuffer wrote. "They do not merely serve the citizens who elect them, the majority of citizens in the community, or a vocal minority in the community."

The city now may not enforce any new advertising prohibitions against the group or its show, Nuffer ruled, ordering that the performance must "take scheduling precedence over any other event."

In a statement, the city of St. George said it is committed to ensuring public parks and facilities remain viable and open to residents and those who want to hold special events.

"Our intent is always to follow the law both when we enact laws and when we enforce laws, and we will continue to do so," the statement said. "We have read Judge Nuffer's opinion and while we are disappointed in the result, we are currently evaluating our options in light of the ruling."

The lawsuit marked the most recent development in a fight over drag shows in St. George, Utah, a conservative city 111 miles (179 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Since HBO filmed a drag show in a public park last year for an episode of its series "We're Here," the city has emerged as a flashpoint in the nationwide battle over drag performances as they've garnered newfound political scrutiny in Republican-controlled cities and states.

Public events like drag queen story hours and the all-ages event that Avalōx intended to put together have been increasingly targeted in legislatures throughout the country. In May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a ban on minors attending drag shows, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a ban on people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries.

In Utah, a proposal from a St. George Republican to require warning notices for events like drag shows or pride parades in public places stalled after advancing through the state House of Representatives in March. The proposal stemmed from the pushback that resulted from the HBO-produced drag show in St. George.

City officials issued permits for the show over the objection from some council members and community activists. City Manager Adam Lenhard resigned months later after writing councilmembers to say that he could not legally deny the show permits, according to emails obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Avalōx founded Southern Utah Drag Stars after the fallout, hoping to showcase drag for members of the LGBTQ+ community in a rural place where such forms of entertainment are often lacking.

"I made it my mission to continue to do these events and not just one month out of the year, but to do so people that were like me when I was little ... can see that there are queer adults that get to live a long and fulfilled life," Avalōx said in an interview with The Associated Press. "My biggest ambition was to provide a public space where people can go to a park and enjoy a show that's meant for everyone."

A federal judge in Tennessee has ruled that a state law limiting public drag show performances represented an “unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of speech.”

“As a matter of text alone, the (Adult Entertainment Act) is a content, and viewpoint-based restriction on speech. The AEA was passed for the impermissible purpose of chilling constitutionally-protected speech,” US District Court Judge Thomas Parker, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said in a 70-page late-Friday ruling.

Parker, who called the law “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” also barred the defendant in the case – the district attorney of Shelby County, which is home to Memphis – from enforcing the law in that county.

The court ruling comes after Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based nonprofit that produces drag performances and comedy sketches, sued in March to stop the law from going into effect, arguing it was a violation of its free speech. Parker then temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the ban as he considered the law’s constitutionality.

Tennessee Republicans, who hold supermajorities in the state legislature, earlier this year passed the measure to restrict public drag show performances, which was signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee. The law sought to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public property to shield children from viewing them, threatening violators with a misdemeanor and repeat offenders with a felony. The ban specifically included “male or female impersonators” who perform in a way that is “harmful to minors.” It had been set to go into effect on April 1.

“WE WON!” Friends of George’s wrote in a tweet Saturday. “Judge Parker has declared Tennessee’s anti-drag law unconstitutional!”

Tennessee officials have argued that the measure is not a full ban and is only intended to stop overtly sexual performances in front of minors. Parker, in his ruling, acknowledged the state’s “compelling interest in protecting the psychological and physical wellbeing of children” but ruled against the law as “an unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of speech.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement Saturday that his office was reviewing the order and expects to appeal “at the appropriate time.”

“The scope of this law has been misrepresented in public by those more interested in pressing a narrative than in reading the statutory text,” Skrmetti said. “The Adult Entertainment Act remains in effect outside of Shelby County. This narrowly-tailored law protects minors from exposure to sexually explicit performances. Its operative language is rooted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s long-established First Amendment precedent.”

CNN has also reached out to Lee’s office for comment.

Tennessee’s law is just one of a slew of other similar measures that Republican-led state legislatures across the country have considered this year.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, signed a bill last month that, among other things, gives his administration the power to take away licenses from establishments if they allow children into an “adult live performance,” widely interpreted as a crackdown on drag shows.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation in May that prevents children from attending “sexually oriented shows” and from being present at obscene performances on public property. It specifically targets drag story hours, which it defines as “an event hosted by a drag queen or drag king who reads children’s books and engages in other learning activities with minor children present.”

Republicans say the performances – which often feature men dressing as women in exaggerated makeup while singing or entertaining a crowd, though some shows feature bawdier content – expose children to sexual themes and imagery that are inappropriate. LGBTQ advocates, however, argue that not all drag shows are sexual in nature and laws such as the ones in Montana and Tennessee stigmatize the community and could violate the First Amendment.

On Thursday, Tennessee became the first state to ban public drag show performances after Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law.

The law prohibits such shows from being “viewed by a person who is not an adult.”

The legislation was previously approved by the state’s House and Senate in party-line votes. Both chambers of the state legislature overwhelmingly approved the measure.

On the same day, Lee signed into law a measure that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Both measures were opposed by advocates for the LGBTQ community, including GLAAD.

"The slate of hate proposed by Tennessee lawmakers this year would hurt countless LGBTQ youth and families in our state, and would do nothing to make Tennessee a more welcoming and economically prosperous place,” said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project. “Lawmakers need to focus on the real issues plaguing our state, not perpetuate myths and distractions around drag performances and basic health care access for transgender people. We need more acceptance and understanding for our local communities in Tennessee, not less."

The bills in Tennessee were among 300 identified by GLAAD last month that are considered anti-LGBTQ. Among them are a number of states considering similar bans on drag shows.

The organization also noted that there were 141 incidents targeting drag shows in 2022, including six in Tennessee.

Bill sponsor State Sen. Jack Johnson said the legislation protects children.

“This bill gives confidence to parents that they can take their kids to a public or private show and will not be blindsided by a sexualized performance,” Johnson said.

GLAAD disputes that the performances are harmful to kids.

“Outlets and accounts often misrepresented what would occur at upcoming drag events, spinning them as harmful to children, and protests or threats would follow,” the organization said.