Tennessee’s governor has signed laws banning drag performances in front of children and restricting medical treatment for transgender youth.
Civil rights and LGBT groups vowed to sue to stop the medical treatment measure from taking effect on 1 July.
Violators of the new drag law, meanwhile, face nearly a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Governor Bill Lee enacted the laws as questions were asked about an old photo apparently of him in women’s clothing.
When it comes into force next month, the drag law will ban performances “harmful to minors” by “go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators” in public places or venues where they could be viewed by children.
The statute is the first of its type to be enacted in the US after a recent flurry of similar laws proposed in Republican-run states.
