WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will not allow Florida to enforce its new law targeting drag shows, while a court case proceeds.

The justices refused to narrow a lower-court order that has prohibited the law from being enforced statewide.

Florida had asked the court to allow its anti-drag show law to be enforced everywhere except at Hamburger Mary's in Orlando. That business challenged the law's constitutionality.

Three justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, said they would have granted the state's request.

Last month, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s order stopping the law from being enforced. The district court found the law likely restricts free speech and couldn't be enforced anywhere within the state.

Hamburger Mary’s regularly hosts drag shows, including weekly performances that children are allowed to attend. The restaurant’s owner said the law is overly broad, written vaguely and violates First Amendment rights by chilling speech.

The new law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis punished venues for allowing children into what it calls “adult live performances.” Although it did not mention drag shows specifically, the sponsor of the legislation said it is aimed at those performances.

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