Federal judge blocks Texas drag show ban, citing Dolly Parton

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down, for the second time, a Texas law that would have restricted public drag performances in the state, name-checking the late Dolly Parton in doing so.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that the state Senate Bill 12 , which was passed in 2023, violated the First Amendment and “is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.”

In the ruling, Hittner wrote that S.B. 12’s definition of banned performances was “unconstitutionally vague.”

“Because the term ‘prurient interest in sex’ is open-ended, S.B. 12 can be used to cherry-pick particular aspects of performances that might be ‘in some sense erotic,'” the judge wrote, according to documents obtained by USA Today.

Hittner referenced country music star Parton, whose death was announced Tuesday, in blocking the ban’s restrictions on shows that appeal to the “prurient interest,” noting people would criticize the “9 to 5” singer “as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure.”

In the ruling , Hittner blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom the case was filed against, from enforcing the act again.

“Drag has always been a form of free expression, and it is a relief that the court recognized that today,” Brigitte Bandit, a plaintiff in the case, said Tuesday . “As a lifelong Texan, I’m sick of this state trying to censor art and stoke hatred and violence against drag artists and the LGBTQIA+ community.”

The case was originally decided in 2023 by Hittner, who issued an injunction at the time because he said S.B. 12 created “viewpoint discrimination” and was “substantially overbroad as written.”

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the injunction and remanded the district court to revisit the challenges made by plaintiffs — 360 Queen Entertainment, Extragrams, The Woodlands Pride, Abilene Pride Alliance and Bandit.

Judge Kurt Engelhardt of the 5th Circuit wrote that the lower court should utilize Supreme Court precedent established in 2024’s Moody v. NetChoice , which narrowed the scope of First Amendment challenges by creating new parameters for evaluation.

S.B. 12 went into effect following that order before Hittner ruled that the Moody test and the appellate court’s ruling “did not disturb” his prior decision, pausing enforcement of the law again.

Paxton slammed Hittner’s ruling on social media Tuesday , calling it a “flawed decision that endangers our children and is an affront to Texas values.”

He confirmed he will be appealing the decision back to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will consider the case under the Moody test.