Abbott slams court order blocking drag shows ban
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called a federal judge’s temporary block of a Texas law banning drag performances “absurd,” prompting a Houston drag performer to speak out against what she says is harmful rhetoric.
“Federal judge in Texas blocks a law I signed that bans sexually explicit drag shows in front of children,” Abbott said in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is absurd. We will fight to have this overturned & to protect our children from this indoctrination.”
Abbott’s comments come days after U.S. District Judge Dave Hittner issued the temporary restraining order halting a law approved by a Republican-controlled Legislature. The law would broaden Texas’ criminal code and expand what’s considered an illegal public performance of sexual conduct in front of children, which some argue would curtail drag performances and affect LGBTQ rights.
Hittner heard from and agreed with LGBTQ advocates and drag performers who filed a lawsuit calling the new state law unconstitutional, saying it violated their First Amendment rights. The temporary restraining order will immediately stop the law until Hittner can make a final judgment in the case.
“I think that (Hittner) made himself part of the right side of history … but it’s not enough,” Queen Angelina, a Houston drag performer, said Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, a law like this should have never been passed and should have never been signed.”
Critics of the law say the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders could even be affected due to the broadening of the definition of “sexual conduct.”
Sexual conduct is outlined in the new law to include sexual gestures that use “accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.” Gestures named in the law now considered crimes include real or simulated groping, real or simulated arousal and pruriently displaying sex toys in front of a minor or on public property at a time and place where it can be viewed by children.
Violators of the law could spend up to a year in jail, and businesses hosting illegal performances could be fined $10,000 for each violation.
“I think what’s absurd is that he’s ignorant towards understanding that this doesn’t only affect drag queens, but all artists of all types,” Angelina said. “I think (Abbott) has a lack of understanding of the law and we don’t want that for our next generation. This is a determinant to future education.”
The new law will only lead to “violence at the end of the day” as it’s a safety concern for those affected, including drag performers, Angelina said.
As mentioned in Abbott’s tweet, many Republican lawmakers advocating for the law believe in protecting children from drag performances as they deem the content to be oversexualized.
Legislators need to look at all safety aspects, including gun violence, if they’re serious about protecting children, Angelina said.
“They’re doing more harm than I will ever do to a child,” she said.