U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas David Hittner has stopped the state’s ban on drag performances—which was scheduled to go into place on Sept. 1—enforcing a temporary injunction, media outlets reported.
A coalition of several groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, filed a suit against the state in August, claiming that the law that Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June is too broad and infringes on their freedom of speech, The Hill noted.
“The Court finds there is a substantial likelihood that S.B. 12 as drafted violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution under one or more of the legal theories put forward by the Plaintiffs,” Hittner wrote.
In a piece on the ACLU of Texas’ website that was posted a few days before the ruling, legal fellow Charelle Lett stated, “The ACLU of Texas is suing Texas to block the drag ban because it violates the First Amendment. Beyond the law’s clear unconstitutionality, it will also cruelly and disproportionately harm trans and nonbinary people of color, who helped birth drag in the first place.”
The court will now fully consider whether the law can go into effect.
—Andrew Davis