BS BULLETIN:
- A Reagan-appointed federal judge has struck down Texas’ drag-show restrictions for the second time, ruling the law is unconstitutionally vague and violates the First Amendment.
- Judge David Hittner even invoked Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus to argue the law could sweep perfectly legal performances into its dragnet.
- His advice to Texans offended by drag shows was considerably simpler: “Just don’t go.”
A federal judge just handed Texas another defeat in its war over drag shows — and left conservatives with four words of advice.
“Just don’t go.”
U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who was appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, ruled Tuesday that Texas Senate Bill 12 is unconstitutional, once again blocking Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing the controversial law.
The law targeted “sexually oriented performances” on public property or in the presence of minors and carried serious penalties for violations.
Businesses could face fines as high as $10,000, while performers could be hit with a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year behind bars.
But Hittner concluded Texas lawmakers created a constitutional mess.
“S.B. 12 is unconstitutionally vague because it fails to give a reasonable person notice of what is prohibited,” the judge wrote in his 34-page decision.
At the center of the problem is the law’s undefined reference to a “prurient interest in sex.” Hittner warned that such open-ended language could potentially turn all sorts of otherwise protected entertainment into illegal conduct.
The judge reached for Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus.
Hittner noted that Elvis was once attacked over his famous hip gyrations, Parton was criticized as a sex symbol because of her appearance and clothing, and Cyrus was blasted for twerking at the MTV Video Music Awards.
“There are ‘erotic’ elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B. 12,” he wrote.
The ruling even suggested the law’s broad definitions could reach provocative cosplay, swimmers and Dolly Parton or Elvis impersonators.
This isn’t Hittner’s first crack at the law. He originally declared it unconstitutional in September 2023. The Fifth Circuit later allowed the law to take effect and sent the case back to him for another look.
He looked. And killed it again.
Hittner said the appeals court’s instructions “did not disturb” his earlier conclusion that the law was unconstitutional. He also rejected Paxton’s attempt to secure a new trial and additional discovery.
“Finally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple … just don’t go,” Hittner wrote.
Paxton isn’t taking the loss quietly.
The Texas attorney general said he plans to appeal.
So Texas’ drag-show battle isn’t over.
But for now, the state’s law is blocked — again — and a Reagan-appointed judge has reduced his advice to unhappy Texans to something considerably shorter than his 34-page ruling: Don’t like it? Don’t buy a ticket.
MY QUICK TAKE
There are really two arguments here.
Parents have every right to demand that sexually explicit performances be kept away from children.
But if Texas wrote a law so broad that it can theoretically scoop up Dolly Parton impersonators, Elvis gyrations and swimsuit-clad athletes, maybe the problem isn’t the First Amendment.
Maybe the problem is the law.
Write a precise statute protecting kids and defend it all the way to the Supreme Court.
Because “just don’t go” may work fine for adults. Children are a different matter.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Mediaite — Judge Offers Simple Solution for the Offended as He Strikes Down Texas Drag Show Ban
- Texas Tribune — Texas’ limits on certain drag shows ruled unconstitutional again
- Fox News — Federal judge strikes down Texas restriction on drag shows, offers people simple solution
