United States | News & Politics

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A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Texas law that LGBTQ advocates feared would ban drag shows in the state and imprison performers.

Greg Abbott signed in June, expanded existing state law to prevent children from exposure to sexually explicit performances.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, writing that the law “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech.”

“LGBTQIA+ Texans, venue owners, performers, and our allies all came together to uphold free expression in our state — and we won,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Texas drag performer Brigitte Bandit, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement to NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin that she was “relieved and grateful for the court’s ruling.”

Montana and Tennessee have passed laws that explicitly limit drag performances in some capacity, and four other states — Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Texas — passed laws this year that regulate “adult” performances and could be used to target or restrict drag, according to the LGBTQ policy think tank Movement Advancement Project.

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