FILE - A drag queen throws out beads for the crowd during the Pride Parade in downtown Houston, on June 24, 2023. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)
A federal judge in Texas struck down a state ban on drag performances, deeming it an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, according to a court filed this week.
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The Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge David Hittner bars Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is currently running for Senate, from enforcing a law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023 that targeted “sexually oriented” performances in front of minors. Abbott touted the law as a ban on public drag shows — an activity increasingly targeted by right-wing figures in recent years.
Under Texas’ law, businesses that hosted drag shows would receive civil penalties while performers would be criminally penalized.
Hittner, a Reagan appointee, also denied Paxton’s motion for a new trial on the case. He signed off his ruling with a suggestion for “those who find such activities as described in this case offensive.”
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“The solution is relatively simple … just don’t go,” Hittner wrote.
Paxton wrote on X that Hittner’s ruling was a “profoundly flawed decision that endangers our children and is an affront to Texas values.” He said he would appeal the decision and “continue to fight to protect our kids.”
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Hittner initially deemed the case unconstitutional in 2023. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later returned the case to him with instructions to reevaluate a select number of details. Hittner reaffirmed his original decision Tuesday, writing that the nature of “sexually oriented” performances was too broad.
Hittner added that there were “‘erotic’ elements in countless popular performances” that critics could say violate state law, including “Elvis’s signature hip gyrations,” Dolly Parton’s status as a “voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure” or Miley Cyrus “‘twerking’ on stage during a live performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.”
Drag performer Brigitte Bandit, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, celebrated Hittner’s ruling on Instagram Tuesday, saying, “Drag is free speech, bitch.”
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