Texas Drag Ban Revived After Ruling Sparks Outrage

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics

NEW ORLEANS, LA — (November 6, 2025) — In another troubling blow to LGBTQ+ civil rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has revived portions of Texas Senate Bill 12, a controversial measure that critics have long condemned as a thinly veiled attack on drag performers and queer visibility.

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The decision vacates last year’s federal injunction that struck down the law as unconstitutional, ordering a narrower review that once again places drag artists, Pride organizers, and LGBTQ+ entertainers under the shadow of potential criminalization.

Federal Court Reopens Texas Drag Ban Battle

The three-judge panel ruled that only one plaintiff — San Antonio’s 360 Queen Entertainment — has standing to challenge the statute, claiming its shows may fall within the law’s definition of a “sexually oriented performance.” Other plaintiffs, including The Woodlands Pride and Abilene Pride Alliance, were dismissed for hosting events described as “family-friendly.”

The decision effectively narrows who can challenge the law while re-legitimizing legislation that LGBTQ+ advocates say is designed to silence queer art and erase gender-nonconforming voices from public spaces.

A Law Cloaked in Morality — But Aimed at LGBTQ+ Texans

Signed in 2023 by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Senate Bill 12 criminalizes hosting or performing “sexually oriented performances” in public or in the presence of minors. Although the text never mentions “drag,” the law was publicly celebrated by state leaders as a “drag ban.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed it would prevent children from being “exposed to drag,” while bill author Sen. Bryan Hughes labeled drag shows as “sexually explicit performances.”

Civil-rights attorneys argue that such framing intentionally conflates queer expression with obscenity, a tactic reminiscent of the moral panic that once targeted gay bars, queer theater, and trans performers across the South.

Court’s Reversal Undermines Free Speech

In 2023, U.S. District Judge David Hittner struck down the law, calling it an “impermissible infringement” on First Amendment rights. He warned its vague wording could criminalize “everything from drag story hours to Broadway plays.”

The Fifth Circuit majority dismissed that view, stating that plaintiffs failed to prove their events were “arguably proscribed” under the statute — a reasoning that LGBTQ+ advocates see as willful ignorance of the bill’s discriminatory intent.

In a sharp dissent, Judge James L. Dennis accused his colleagues of “turning a blind eye to the Texas Legislature’s avowed purpose: a statewide drag ban.” He cited the celebratory comments by Abbott and Patrick as clear evidence that the law’s true objective is censorship of queer culture.

A Chilling Effect Across the Nation

The case now returns to Houston for reconsideration under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Moody v. NetChoice standard — a framework that could make it harder for plaintiffs to bring facial First Amendment challenges.

For drag performers and Pride organizers across Texas, this ruling represents a renewed era of legal uncertainty and fear.

What was once struck down as unconstitutional is now being revived under new judicial semantics — a dangerous signal for LGBTQ+ rights nationwide.

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