Appeals court says Texas can enforce drag show ban, suggests not all drag shows violate state law
A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can enforce a 2023 law that prohibits drag shows in public or when children are present, although the ruling indicates that the...
By Fox News · Fox News
A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can enforce a 2023 law that prohibits drag shows in public or when children are present, although the ruling indicates that the judges do not believe all drag shows would be restricted under the measure. Senate Bill 12 bans drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public property or in front of children. Business owners could face a $10,000 fine for hosting these performances, and performers who violate the law could be slapped with a Class A misdemeanor. A three-judge panel in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed an earlier decision by a district court, returning the case to the district court, according to The Texas Tribune. In Thursday's decision, the judges ruled that most of the plaintiffs, which included a drag performer, a drag production company and pride groups, were not found to have planned a "sexually oriented performance," meaning they could not be harmed by the law that seeks to restrict sexually explicit dances, the outlet reported. COURT STRIKES DOWN OHIO SCHOOL’S PRONOUN POLICY IN WIN FOR PARENTAL RIGHTS GROUP The ruling also suggests that the court does not believe all drag shows are sexually explicit and, therefore, are not impacted by the ban. In September 2023, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that the law was unconstitutional, writing that it "impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment" and that it is "not unreasonable" to believe it could affect activities such as live theatre or dancing. Critics of the ban have previously argued that GOP lawmakers were attempting to label all drag shows as sexually explicit, as Republicans continue to target the performances in Texas and several other states. The court found that performances described by a drag production company are arguably sexually explicit, although the ruling does not specifically state which actions were included. APPEALS COURT ALLOWS ARKANSAS' FIRST-IN-THE-NATION BAN ON…