08/27/2026
Federal Judge Strikes Down Texas' Drag Show Ban, Tells the Offended to "Just Don't Go"
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner permanently blocked Texas Senate Bill 12, the state's 2023 attempt to ban drag performances, ruling that the law is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. It's the second time Judge Hittner has thrown this same law out. The judge gave some solid advice, writing, "For those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple … just don't go."
The best part about this is that the ruling didn't come from some liberal activist on the bench. Judge David Hittner is a Reagan appointee, nominated to the Southern District of Texas in April 1986 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate that June. He's been on the federal bench for 40 years. Sorry Ken, even your side sees your bullsh*t for what it is.
SB 12, passed in 2023, banned businesses from hosting "s*xually oriented performance" in front of anyone under 18. The law never used the word "drag" and Republicans wrote it that way on purpose so they could aim it at drag brunches, story hours, and Pride events without having to name anything. Too bad the judge didn't fall for it. He found that the law was "facially overbroad" and didn't give businesses or performers reasonable notice of what was prohibited. Republicans wrote it so vaguely that any theater production, ballet, or musical impersonator with hip movement could arguably be prosecuted.
Hittner had struck this law down once before, back in September 2023, before it took effect. The 5th Circuit vacated that ruling and sent the case back to him for another look last November. He looked again and ruled the same thing that he did the first time. GREAT JOB WASTING TIME AND TAXPAYER MONEY KEN.
Read the full article, including the killer Judge Hittner passage where he name-checks Elvis, Dolly, and Miley Cyrus to show how absurdly broad SB 12 was, plus the "just don't go" logic that applies to almost every Republican culture war fight in this state:
https://letsaddresstexas.substack.com/p/federal-judge-strikes-down-texas
My favorite headline on this was The Washington Post's headline that said "Judge channels Dolly Parton in blocking Texas drag show ban." Dolly Parton has spent her entire career loving drag queens and even said if she came back as a man she would probably be a drag queen. She was one of the first mainstream country stars to embrace drag culture, has been the subject of countless drag tributes, and has always said drag performers are some of her favorite people on earth. Dolly had a stronger stance on First Amendment protection for drag than Ken Paxton does.
Judge Hittner invoked Dolly by name in his opinion, alongside her goddaughter Miley Cyrus and Elvis Presley, to make the point that the Texas law was so broad it would apply to some of the most famous performers in American music history.
Hittner wrote in the ruling: "Just as many people criticized Elvis's signature hip gyrations and were offended by his display of male s*xuality, chastised Dolly Parton as a voluptuous s*x symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure, and shamed Miley Cyrus for 'twerking' on stage during a live performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, there are 'erotic' elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties" under the law.
Then he referenced a Dolly Parton impersonator using a breast plate while dancing, or even an Elvis impersonator using a packer while shaking their hips, would (per Hittner) "trigger liability under the law while still being constitutionally protected performances."
The advice the judge gave to people offended by drag shows can be applied across the board. Don't want to get a gay marriage? Don't get one. Don't want an abortion? Don't have one. Don't want to read a particular book to your kids at bedtime? Don't read that book to them. See how that works? You're free to choose what works for you, which doesn't give you the right to take that choice away from anyone else.
Let's take me for example, because I personally don't like children's beauty pageants. I PERSONALLY don't believe in dressing up little girls like adults and having them parade in front of a panel of adults to be scored on their appearance. Have I filed a bill in the Texas Legislature to ban them? No. Am I on the courthouse steps demanding the state fine any business that hosts one? No. If I ever had a child, I wouldn't put them in one. That's called being an adult and making decisions for MY children that I feel are the best for them.
Ken Paxton has already said that he'll appeal the ruling immediately, calling it "a profoundly flawed decision that endangers our children." He's ready to spend more of your tax dollars fighting a Reagan appointee at the 5th Circuit over drag brunch, while the state burns in a 50,000-acre wildfire, while Corpus Christi rations water, while Houston ISD gets taken over…
Republicans in this state have organized their entire political brand around telling other people what they can wear, what they can read, what medical care they can receive, what religion is acceptable, and what a person on a stage can do with a microphone. They aren't the party of small government and they never were. They're the party of "government should mind its own business, unless we don't like the thing." They could learn something from their colleague, Judge Hittner, and mind their own business.
Here's what to do:
1. Read the reports from NBC News and the Washington Post.
2. Early voting in Texas runs October 19 through October 30 and includes a Saturday and Sunday in most counties.
3. Register to vote. Head to votetexas.gov, fill out the application, print it, sign it, and mail it to your county elections office, or drop it off in person. No printer? The same site lets you request a postage-paid paper application by mail. Get it postmarked by October 5, the deadline for the November 3 election.
4. On November 3, vote James Talarico for U.S. Senate against Ken Paxton. Vote Gina Hinojosa for Governor against Greg Abbott. Vote Vikki Goodwin for Lieutenant Governor against Dan Patrick. Vote Ben Flores for Land Commissioner. Vote Democrat down-ballot.
We are building this platform exactly for moments like this. Where a marginalized group suffers harm and finds no media platform to help raise awareness. Our commitment to justice and human rights calls on us to demand accountability for every person in this country. If in your means, join us as a paid subscriber and help us continue to build a future where every person has equal access to fairness and justice.
See y'all tomorrow.
Read the full article: https://letsaddresstexas.substack.com/p/federal-judge-strikes-down-texas
