In a significant win in the fight against woke ideology, a federal appeals court upheld Texas SB 12, which allows restrictions on sexually oriented public performances, including some drag shows, which have repeatedly scandalized the nation and led to an immense backlash on social media.
In its decision on the law and the cases surrounding it, the appellate court panel ruled that most plaintiffs failed to prove intent to perform erotic acts, claiming that actions such as twerking or hugs don’t qualify, though lap-sitting in thongs and provocative gestures “arguably” do.
Reacting to the victory, Texas Governor Abbott celebrated the sensible decisions to uphold the ban, while AG Paxton vowed to protect children. Losing their collective minds, both the plaintiffs and ACLU called the decision “heartbreaking.”
Announcing the initial law in a breaking post on social media, Gov. Greg Abbott took to X (formerly Twitter) in June 2023 to confirm his intention. He posted, “Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public. That’s right.”
After years of lawfare, the Fifth Circuit court has sided with families against woke drag performances. “To appeal to the ‘prurient interest in sex,’ material, at minimum, must be ‘in some sense erotic,'” the decision noted.
As cited in the lawsuit, the owner of a drag production company listed the acts that were performed every day at these performances. The promoter noted that performers “sit on customers’ laps while wearing thongs,” another invited a customer “to spank her on the butt,” and a drag queen “wore a breastplate that was very revealing, pulsed her chest in front of people, [and] put her chest in front of people’s faces.”
Explaining how this is relevant to the case, Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote a footnote which explained, “There is ‘genuine doubt’ that these actions are ‘actually constitutionally protected—especially in the presence of minors.’” However, Judge James Dennis issued a partial dissent that offered a different option. “That gratuitous dictum runs headlong into settled First Amendment jurisprudence and threatens to mislead on remand,” he wrote.
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Explaining his decision to fight this case to the bitter end and push it through the court system, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a confident statement. He declared, “I will always work to shield our children from exposure to erotic and inappropriate sexually oriented performances.”
Still not done, the principled conservative noted, “It is an honor to have defended this law, ensuring that our state remains safe for families and children, and I look forward to continuing to vigorously defend it on remand before the district court.”
Despite widespread celebration, woke activists such as the ACLU of Texas opposed the sensible decision for ideological reasons. The leftist NGO reacted, “We are devastated by this setback, but we are not defeated.” Doubling down on tired, woke rhetoric, the same organization continued. “Together, we will keep advocating for a Texas where everyone — including drag artists and LGBTQIA+ people — can live freely, authentically, and without fear,” a statement read.
Ironically, ACLU of Texas decided to use the First Amendment to protect these obscene performances. The woke NGO claimed, “The First Amendment protects all artistic expression, including drag. We will not stop until this unconstitutional law is struck down for good.”
Watch public testimony from 2023 regarding why SB 12 is necessary here: