Judge strikes down Texas ban on drag shows, tells people offended by them ‘just don’t go’ - NBC News

U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, found the law improperly restricted speech. His ruling blocks state Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing the measure and denies Paxton's motion for a new trial. Paxton is currently running for the U.S. Senate.

For Lubbock, the ruling carries real weight. Texas has some of the most watched culture-war legislation in the country, and SB 12 had cast a legal shadow over any venue or performer working anywhere near drag performance territory. That uncertainty is now gone, at least until an appeal changes things.

Hittner did not mince words for critics of drag shows. "The solution is relatively simple, just don't go," he wrote in the ruling, a line that will almost certainly keep circulating well beyond the courthouse.

Paxton's office did not immediately respond to the ruling, leaving open the question of whether the state will appeal and push this back toward a higher court.