Texas A&M's drag ban blocked by federal court as judge cites free 'speech rights'

A federal judge has struck down Texas A&M's ban on drag shows, determining it to be a violation of the First Amendment.

Motivated by Donald Trump's executive order denying the existence of trans people, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted to ban drag performances across all 11 campuses earlier this month, claiming that the art form was somehow “offensive” and “inconsistent" with the “core values of its universities, including the value of respect for others.”

The Board of Regents vote cancelled a performance of "Draggieland" (a combination of “Drag” and “Aggieland”), an award-winning student-hosted show that has been performed annually since 2020. In response, the Texas A&M Queer Empowerment Council and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed a lawsuit against the university.

“Texas A&M, like any public university, has the utmost duty to respect the First Amendment rights of students,” FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney JT Morris said in a statement. “As public officials, they can’t banish speech from campus just because it offends them, any more than they could shut down a political rally or a Christmas pageant.”

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas struck down the ban Monday, ruling that “the law requires the recognition and application of speech rights and guardrails that preserve and protect all our treasured First Amendment rights," even in cases where "opinions and speech that are deemed, or actually are, offensive or wrong."

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“Today is a resounding victory for the First Amendment at public universities in Texas,” said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with FIRE who argued before the district court. “The court reaffirmed that state university officials cannot block student expression they claim is offensive. State officials should stop trying to score political points at the expense of students’ First Amendment rights.”

The students' March 27 performance will go on as scheduled, which the Queer Empowerment Council said they are "overjoyed" by.

“This is another display of the resilience of queer joy, as that is an unstoppable force despite those that wish to see it destroyed," the group said. "While this fight isn’t over, we are going to appreciate the joy we get to bring by putting on the best show that we can do.”