Opponents have called the law, Senate Bill 12, a "drag show ban" because it prohibits a "person who controls the premises of a commercial enterprise" from "allow[ing] a sexually oriented performance to be presented on the premises in the presence of an individual younger than 18 years of age."
Businesses can face fines of up to $10,000 for violations, while performers can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston has now made a permanent legal order meant to completely and forever stop the government from enforcing that law. He recently ruled that it is substantially overbroad under the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague.
Senate Bill 12 "impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech," he said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is now blocked from enforcing the law, is appealing the district court decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Jonathan Covey of Texas Values thinks that is the right move.
"We'll go back up to the Fifth Circuit and see what they say, but we believe that Judge Hittner's ruling is wrong because it understates the state's legitimate and compelling authority that they have to protect children from sexually explicit conduct," which, he says, "does not become constitutionally protected simply because someone calls it entertainment."
Texas Scorecard reports that Judge Hittner had previously blocked the law's enforcement before it took effect on September 1, 2023. In a lawsuit brought by individuals in the drag industry, he concluded that the law was an unconstitutional restriction on speech.
In November 2025, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that injunction and allowed the law to be enforced while the case proceeded on the merits at the district court level.
Judge Hittner has now essentially reached the same conclusion as he did three years ago and has ordered that Paxton is "immediately and permanently enjoined from enforcing Texas Senate Bill 12."
"This is a profoundly flawed decision that endangers our children and is an affront to Texas values," Paxton responded on X. "I will appeal this decision immediately and continue to fight to protect our kids."
Covey says Texas Values "strongly supports the attorney general's appeal," and likewise plans to "continue fighting to protect Texas children."
Earlier this month, the full U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc ruled 8-5 that Florida's "Protection of Children Act" similarly banning the admittance of minors to "adult live performances" is constitutional.
The appeals court restored the law by vacating a statewide injunction from a lower court and sent the case back down for proceedings consistent with the ruling.
