Texas’ Drag Show Ban Receives Favorable Audience at Fifth Circuit

Texas likely can ban drag shows performed in the presence of minors, the majority of judges on a federal appeals court panel indicated Wednesday.

During oral arguments, two judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit suggested the 2023 law doesn’t restrict free speech because it’s intended to protect children from adult content. They appeared skeptical of competing arguments that it will drive drag shows into extinction and restrict performances that carry literary value.

“Seems to me the statute is fundamentally designed toward the performance in front of minors,” Judge Kurt Engelhardt said. Engelhardt, a Trump appointee, ...