Federal judge shoots down Texas drag show ban, suggesting Dolly Parton would run afoul of the law

A federal judge has struck down a Texas law that would have restricted public drag performances, evoking the late Dolly Parton's name in the ruling. 

U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that Texas Senate Bill 12, which was passed in 2023, violated the First Amendment and “is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech," The Hill reported. 

Hittner said that the law's definition of banned performances, which references appeals to "prurient interest in sex," is "unconstitutionally vague," and could therefore "be used to cherry-pick particular aspects of performances that might be ‘in some sense erotic.'" 

Hitner pointed out that some would say performances by country music star Parton, who died on Tuesday, would appeal to "prurient interest" because the singer is viewed “as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure.”

The ruling prevents Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom the case was filed against, from enforcing the law again.