Texas lawmakers passed a bill that restricts inappropriate performances in the presence of children, including “drag” shows. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law in 2023.
So-called drag performers filed a pre-enforcement challenge to the law. They claimed the measure violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague.
A lower court blocked the state from enforcing the law. Liberty Counsel (LC) just announced that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling asking the lower court to evaluate the case based on the plaintiff’s First Amendment and unconstitutionally vague claims.
In the meantime, Texas will enforce the law.
“The First Amendment has never protected obscenity directed at children,” said Mat Staver, LC founder and chairman. “Laws like this reflect a long-standing principle in constitutional law that the state and parents have the authority to protect a child’s innocence from obscene material. Protecting children is not censorship, it is a duty of common decency.”
