ST. GEORGE, Utah — The City of St. George is facing a new legal challenge over its decision to block a drag show in a public park.
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Southern Utah Drag Stars, filed an amended complaint alleging that the city's new ordinance governing special event permits could create problems in the future for drag shows.
Southern Utah Drag Stars sued St. George city officials after it was denied a permit in 2023 for a show. The plaintiffs cited comments that city leaders had made about the LGBTQ+ community and drag shows, alleging they were discriminated against. A federal judge sided with the drag show and chastised city leaders over their handling of the situation, citing the First Amendment, and ordered the city to allow the show to happen. Southern Utah Drag Stars got to perform at the Dixie Sunbowl in June of 2023.
Since then, the city has revised its special event permit ordinance. The ACLU argues that the new ordinance is creating its own set of problems.
"Defendants’ revisions to the St. George City Code, made in response to this Court’s ruling that removed prior unconstitutional limitations on Plaintiffs’ speech, have made matters even more urgent. The new Code provisions are powerful new weapons for suppressing disfavored speech in St. George, up to and including the threat of a lifetime ban on protected gathering and speech activities in the public square," ACLU attorney Thomas Ford wrote in the filing obtained by FOX 13 News.
In response, lawyers for the City of St. George argued to the judge that it is too soon to say if it would negatively impact groups like Southern Utah Drag Stars.
"Plaintiffs’ claims based upon the Revised Special Events Ordinance are not ripe because Plaintiffs have not alleged they were denied a permit under this ordinance for any reason, let alone the three reasons they have alleged in their amended complaint," St. George attorney Scott Young wrote. "Not only have Plaintiffs not experienced any of the deficiencies they allege in their Amended Complaint, they have not alleged that any other permit applicant has experienced these deficiencies. Thus, Plaintiffs’ allegations of shortcomings in the Revised Special Events Ordinance are mere speculation, and are not ripe for judicial review."
