{"id":417694,"date":"2026-08-26T23:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/417694\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T23:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:16:10","slug":"judge-blocks-texas-drag-show-ban-for-second-time-tells-critics-just-dont-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/417694\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Blocks Texas Drag Show Ban For Second Time, Tells Critics ‘Just Don’t Go’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal judge has once again ruled against Texas\u2019 efforts to restrict certain drag performances<\/a>, finding that a 2023 state law violates the First Amendment and cannot be enforced.<\/p>\n

Details on the ruling and the original law for Texas drag shows<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge David Hittner\u2019s Tuesday ruling blocks Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing Senate Bill 12, which imposed penalties on businesses hosting certain drag performances and the performers involved. Hittner, a Reagan appointee, also denied Paxton\u2019s request for a new trial, NBC News<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Under the law, business owners found in violation could face fines of up to $10,000, while performers could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.<\/p>\n

The decision marks another turn in the years-long legal battle over the legislation. Hittner previously declared the law unconstitutional in September 2023, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to him last November and lifted the pause, allowing it to take effect again last year, per NBC News and the Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Judge Hittner says Texas went too far<\/p>\n

After reconsidering the statute under the appeals court\u2019s instructions, Hittner again found that Texas had gone too far in attempting to regulate drag performances.<\/p>\n

He also had a blunt message for people who are offended by drag shows: \u201cFinally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple \u2026 just don\u2019t go,\u201d Hittner wrote, per the Texas Tribune.<\/p>\n

His ruling also referenced Dolly Parton<\/a>, whose death was announced Tuesday. Hittner used the singer as an example of how broadly the law could be interpreted, noting that someone could characterize Parton as a \u201cvoluptuous sex symbol\u201d because of her \u201cbig hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are \u2018erotic\u2019 elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B. 12,\u201d Hittner wrote, according to NBC News.<\/p>\n

Drag queen performer Brigitte Bandit celebrates the ruling<\/p>\n

Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and longtime Texas LGBTQ+ rights activist, was one of several plaintiffs mentioned in the case. She also impersonates Parton in her performances and spoke out about how she and others have used their platforms to bring joy to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use our performances to assert liberation, power, and joy with our community,\u201d Bandit said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs, according to the Texas Tribune. \u201cAs a lifelong Texan, I\u2019m sick of this state trying to censor art and stoke hatred and violence against drag artists and the LGBTQIA+ community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge stated further that the law was overly broad and could potentially subject activities such as \u201ccheerleading, dancing, live theater, and other common public occurrences\u201d to civil or criminal penalties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge has once again ruled against Texas\u2019 efforts to restrict certain drag performances, finding that a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-417694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}