A federal judge on Tuesday again blocked Texas from enforcing parts of its drag-show restrictions, ruling that Senate Bill 12 is unconstitutional for a second time and leaving the law paused while the case moves on. U.S. District Judge David Hittner said his earlier finding still stands, despite a higher court’s order sending the case back for another look.
The ruling matters now because Texas had already put the law into effect in March after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in, so this decision again cuts off enforcement just months later. Hittner said the appellate court’s action did not disturb his prior ruling, and he rejected the state’s attempt to keep broad restrictions in place while the case remained unresolved.
Hittner’s opinion says the law sweeps too far. It describes SB 12 as overly broad in its definitions of performance and nudity, and says the vast majority of its applications run headfirst into the First Amendment because the acts it reaches are protected expression targeted for their content and viewpoint. Under that reading, the law could reach more than drag performances alone, including provocative cosplay at conventions, swimming athletes, and Dolly Parton and Elvis impersonators.
Brigitte Bandit, one of the plaintiffs, cast the fight as both legal and cultural. “We use our performances to assert liberation, power, and joy with our community,” Bandit said. “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.” Her comments matched the case’s central argument: that the state is trying to punish expression because of what it represents.
The lawsuit was first brought against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, two counties, three district attorneys and one county attorney by two community pride groups, two entertainment groups and Bandit. After the 5th Circuit’s November ruling, the two pride groups were removed as plaintiffs and Paxton became the sole defendant, a change Hittner said satisfied the appellate court’s instructions. That left the judge free to revisit the case without rewriting the claims from scratch.
The friction in the case is that the 5th Circuit had unblocked the law and sent it back, but Hittner said that move left his constitutional ruling intact. He also noted that Gov. Greg Abbott had touted SB 12 as a drag ban after its passage in 2023. For now, Texas cannot enforce the restrictions Hittner has paused, and the question left standing is how much of SB 12 can survive any future review at all.
