Texas Government Appeals Ruling That Protects Drag Shows as “Free Speech”
Jose Nino
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Senate Bill 12, a Texas law that bans sexually themed drug shows in front of minors, has been challenged in the courts over the last few months.
The bill was initially signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and went into effect on September 1, 2023.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas was the most prominent organization to file a lawsuit against the state over the measure, making the argument that it allegedly violated constitutionally protected speech.
On September 1, federal judge David Hittner issued a ruling in favor of the ACLU’s lawsuit, thereby allowing drag queens to continue performing in front of children below the ages of 18.
The judge granted a temporary restraining order against the anti-drag show and later proclaimed that SB 12 was unconstitutional from top to bottom. On top of that, Hittner declared in the ruling that SB 12 was “unconstitutionally vague.”
The ruling also noted, “But even if SB 12 were not unconstitutionally vague, it would still fail due to it being an impermissible prior restraint on speech.”
On September 26, Hittner issued a permanent injunction on SB 12. This move prevented the penalties of up to $10,000 per offense from being enforced.
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an appeal to the Fifth Circuit and filed a motion to stay that injunction.
“When sexually-explicit performances marketed as family-friendly entertainment became common in recent years, Texas sprang into action by passing SB 12 to protect children and families,” Paxton informed Texas Scorecard. “As I promised, my office is pursuing all legal remedies possible to aggressively defend this law.”
Such degenerate shows must be cracked down against by red states. Allowing drag shows to operate under the pretext of free speech is just an invitation for mass degeneracy.
The Right must take a stand on this issue and make it clear that such lewd behavior will not be tolerated. Let’s hope that Texas can come out on top in this case.
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