On Tuesday a federal judge in Texas ruled that the state's new law limiting public drag performances was an unconstitutional restriction on speech and he permanently forbid enforcement of it. The US District Judge David Hittner wrote, "Not all people will like or condone certain performances, This is no different than a person's opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection." More than a dozen states have sought to restrict drag shows over the last year, with Texas one of at least four to pass restrictions into law, part of broader Republican efforts to regulate the behavior of LGBTQ+ people. Hittner ruled that the Texas law was discriminatory and improperly vague. He said drag performances were not inherently obscene, and were the sort of expressive speech protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Drag performers and Pride march organizers joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas to represent the plaintiffs. The office of the Texas attorney general defended the law, which, among other restrictions, banned the exhibition of sexual gesticulations using accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics in public, or in venues where people under 18 may see it. Violations could be punished by fines and a jail sentence of up to one year. Texas lawmakers said the law was needed to protect children from seeing sexually explicit content.
Texas Drag Ban Ruled Unconstitutional By US Judge
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