VOL. I · OCT. 17, 2026 ● NO. 07 ● FREE SPEECH & THE FIRST AMENDMENT
The North Star
“Right is of no Sex — Truth is of no Color.”
After Frederick Douglass, 1847
The free-speech desk — the First Amendment, censorship, and the right to be heard, tracked ruling by ruling across the fifty states.
First Amendment
Federal Judge Strikes Down Texas Drag Ban for the Second Time
A Houston federal judge again held that Texas Senate Bill 12 is overbroad and unconstitutional, finding the drag-performance restrictions sweep in ordinary protected expression.
A drag performer on stage under theater lighting, illustrating the expressive performances at the center of the Texas SB 12 litigation. — AI-generated illustration
For the second time in three years, a federal judge has invalidated Texas's attempt to restrict drag performances. On August 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that Senate Bill 12 violates the First Amendment because its definitions are so broad and vague they could criminalize a wide range of ordinary performances.
Senate Bill 12, enacted in 2023, sought to bar certain "sexually oriented" performances on public property or where minors might be present, and civil-rights groups argued the measure was aimed squarely at drag shows. Judge Hittner concluded the statute reached far beyond obscenity, potentially exposing performers to penalties for fleeting or ambiguous content.
The court emphasized that a law touching expression must be drawn with precision. Because SB 12's terms could ensnare cheerleading, musicals, dance contests and other clearly protected activities, the judge found it could not survive constitutional scrutiny.
The ruling extends a losing streak for the statute, which a court first blocked in 2023. Texas is expected to continue defending the law on appeal, keeping the fight over drag-performance statutes alive across the country.
2
Times SB 12 struck down
2023
Year law enacted
A single moment of eroticism could condemn an entire performance to criminal or civil penalties.
— U.S. District Judge David Hittner, Woodlands Pride, Inc. v. Paxton
Video caption
How the case moved
JUN 2023
Texas enacts Senate Bill 12 restricting certain performances.
SEP 2023
A federal court first declares the law unconstitutional.
AUG 2026
Judge Hittner again strikes the statute as overbroad and vague.
✓ Fact check
Claim
“States can freely ban drag performances because they are inherently obscene.”
Reality
Drag is protected expression; obscenity is a narrow legal category, and courts have repeatedly found broad drag bans unconstitutional.
§
Legal References
Bluebook citation · cases, statutes & the record
Primary legal authority cited in this report. Links go to the public record where one exists.
[1]
Woodlands Pride, Inc. v. Paxton, No. 4:23-cv-03918 ¶ source
S.D. Tex. 2026
¶
Academic References
ABA / law-review style · secondary scholarship
Secondary scholarship that informs the analysis.
[1]
Reference text
Author bio
Source: ACLU of Texas
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