Texas’ Anti-Drag Laws Ruled Unconstitutional In Major Win for LGBTQ+ Performers

October 1, 2023
TOMMY

It's been a rough few years for the LGBTQ+ community. Around the country, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were being tracked by civil liberties watchdog groups, with almost half of the bills targeting trans people. In particular, drag performers have been notably situated in the crosshairs of conservatives with anti-drag bills popping up everywhere. But this week, the Queer community and those who support it won a major victory when Texas' draconian anti-drag bill was struck down as unconstitutional.

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Texas' Senate Bill 12 took care to not use the word drag in the drafting of the bill, but instead used coded language like "exhibiting as a female" and "prurient interest in sex." But in his 56-page ruling, Hittner stated that SB 12 was not only "mere content-based discrimination," but went even further into a form of "viewpoint discrimination" given that they're trying to prohibit "the specific act of impersonating or exaggerating a sex other than the one a performer is assigned."

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Chloe Kempf, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas who represented the plaintiff, said, "Today’s ruling blocks a law that threatens some of the most cherished First Amendment freedoms we all hold dear."

Richard Martinez, President of 360 Queen Entertainment, was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and was understandably thrilled with the ruling. "I am overjoyed by the court's decision to strike down S.B. 12," he said. "Personally, it means that my business can continue to bring drag to audiences and to the LGBTQIA+ community. This decision offers a ray of hope during a time that has otherwise been difficult and dark."

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The irony is not lost on us that Judge Hittner was a federal appointee by POS Ronald Reagan, whose administration was responsible for the severity and duration of the AIDS crisis. But this victory is decidedly a major one for Queer people everywhere. Most notably, it's a win for the drag queens and kings that create such incredible art. Texas Republican Bryan Hughes, who authored SB 12, says they will appeal the decision and are prepared to take it to the Supreme Court. What Sen. Hughes fails to realize, of course, is that Queer people will always exist, drag artists have literally been performing for centuries, and however long it takes, progress will win the fight in the long-run as it always does.