Even after being rejected at the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to get a federal appeals court to allow a law that would prevent children from attending drag shows everywhere in Florida except at Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando.

The state argued that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should overturn a June ruling by U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell that blocked enforcement of the law statewide. Presnell said the law, approved this spring by the Republican-led Legislature and DeSantis, violated First Amendment rights.

Attorneys representing Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Melanie Griffin, the named defendant in the case, disputed in the brief that the law violates the First Amendment and said it is narrowly focused on the ages of children.

“Because of this feature, the act does not unnecessarily deny or impede access of adults to communications that are constitutionally protected for them,” said the brief, filed by lawyers in Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office. “The act proscribes only the knowing exposure of a child to unprotected speech — speech that is obscene for children of that age. It is therefore entirely consistent with the First Amendment.”

Hamburger Mary’s filed the lawsuit in May, saying in court documents that it had run “family-friendly” drag shows for 15 years. Presnell ruled that the law is not “sufficiently narrowly tailored” to meet First Amendment standards and temporarily blocked the law.

While the state quickly appealed Presnell’s ruling to the Atlanta-based appeals court, the two sides battled for months about whether the injunction should be applied statewide or just to the Orlando restaurant while the legal fight continued.

Presnell and the appeals court refused a state request for a partial stay that would have only applied the injunction to Hamburger Mary’s and allowed enforcement of the law elsewhere. The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 16 declined to take up a request from the state for a partial stay.

The decisions about the requested partial stay, however, did not resolve the underlying legal issues in the appeal of Presnell’s ruling.

The law, dubbed by sponsors as the “Protection of Children Act,” would prevent venues from admitting children to adult live performances.

Regulators would be able to suspend or revoke licenses of restaurants, bars and other venues that violate the law. In addition, people could face first-degree misdemeanor charges for “knowingly” admitting children to adult live performances.