Court Halts West Texas A&M Drag Show Ban as Free Speech Lawsuit Continues
“ruling that the performances are likely protected under the First Amendment”
A similar situation unfolded at Texas A&M back in April. Even if you don’t like drag shows, these people are adults.
Click2Houston reports:
Fifth Circuit halts West Texas A&M drag show ban as free speech lawsuit continues
A federal appeals court Monday blocked West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler from enforcing a campus drag show ban, ruling that the performances are likely protected under the First Amendment.
The 2-1 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower court’s decision upholding Wendler’s 2023 cancellation of a drag show, which he argued was demeaning to women and compared to blackface.
The decision means Spectrum WT, the student group that brought the lawsuit, can produce drag shows on campus while its lawsuit continues in a lower court.
Judge Leslie H. Southwick, who wrote for the majority, said the context of the students’ event made its message of supporting the queer community clear.
“The viewers of the drag show would have been ticketed audience members attending a performance sponsored by LGBT+ student organizations and designed to raise funds for LGBT+ suicide-prevention charity, “ wrote Southwick, who was appointed by George W. Bush. “Against this backdrop, the message sent by parading on a theater stage in attire of the opposite sex would have been unmistakable.”
The court concluded that Legacy Hall, where the drag show was scheduled to take place, was a designated public forum open to a variety of groups, including churches and political candidates. That meant banning drag shows targeted the content of the event, something the Constitution allows only in the rarest cases.
Finally, the court found that students faced ongoing irreparable harm to their speech rights, noting Wendler had canceled another drag show planned for 2024 and declared that no drag shows would ever be allowed on campus.
That conclusion gave the judges another reason to block the ban for now, since courts only grant such relief when plaintiffs have a strong case and risk being harmed without it.
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Comments
they have the right to put on their shows
thats why it is imperative that we get the fn gop to write the laws to stop funding allll these entities
So, who has “more rights” to free speech?
Are people pretending to be another gender/sex that are literally parading around making fun of and exemplifying the disparity of speech rights more “free” than are those who are trying to protect them selves and others from this literal harassment & ridicule?
What are you talking about? Everyone has the same rights, and these people’s rights have been violated by this policy.
It is branch campus of Texas A&M, public university system, and receives taxpayer funding. The main campus already fought this battle while back and lost.