In a legal battle, three Collier County, Florida, parents are fighting in court to protect children from a sexually explicit drag show seeking to hold its events near a playground.

The drag show, sponsored by Naples Pride, was held in 2022 about 100 feet from the playground within Cambier Park in Naples. Photo documentation included in an amicus brief filed on behalf of the parents depicted the drag performers dressed in vulgar clothing as they performed poses and acts sexual in nature, including mimicking sexual activities. Children allegedly were invited “to place money in their waist bands like strippers in a bar,” according to a press release from Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal organization. Naples Pride also labeled its show as “family friendly.”

Because the explicit demonstrations were visible to children, the city revoked the permit allowing the group to use the space, and the event was held indoors in 2023 and 2024. In April by a 5-2 vote, the Naples City Council established that the event must remain indoors and be restricted to an adult-only audience.

Naples Pride and the American Civil Liberties Union then filed suit against the city, seeking a preliminary injunction to remove the adults-only restriction and to allow use of the outdoor space.

On April 30, Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief in the case, in support of the three parents, and a U.S. District Court held a preliminary injunction hearing on May 2.

After the hearing, Liberty Council filed a motion to intervene, arguing that protecting children from explicit demonstrations should be within the city’s interest.

“Decades of Supreme Court precedent holds that the First Amendment does not license licentious acts in front of children in public places,” the motion document states. “ … the City has a compelling government interest in protecting children from being exposed to obscenely sexual performances.”

The document also asserted that the Florida Protection of Children Act criminalizes holding drag shows with minors present. Additionally, the city argued that Cambier Park is a limited public forum subject to ordinary viewpoint-neutral permit criteria.

The act, passed in 2023, states that conducting an “adult live performance” in front of children is unlawful. This includes any “show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities … lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.” 

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, summarized why Liberty Counsel is standing with the concerned parents.  

“The First Amendment does not protect an obscene drag performance in full view of a children’s playground, and Florida law outright bans it,” Staver said in a press release. “Restricting speech for children that is otherwise protected for adults passes constitutional muster in the interest of protecting their well-being. Citizens do not have to tolerate obscene drag shows in view of their children.”

Photo: Adobe Stock