Overview
- U.S. District Judge David Hittner issued a permanent injunction on Tuesday, barring Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing Senate Bill 12 while the legal fight continues.
- Hittner found the law’s key terms — including “visual performance,” “nude,” and appeals to the “prurient interest in sex” — too broad and undefined to give people fair notice of what conduct is banned.
- SB 12 had allowed civil fines up to $10,000 per event for businesses and criminal penalties for performers, including Class A misdemeanors with possible jail time, which the judge said could chill lawful speech.
- The plaintiffs, including businesses, LGBTQ groups and Austin performer Brigitte Bandit, argued the measure targeted drag, threatened livelihoods and would deter a wide range of protected performances.
- Paxton has signaled an immediate appeal, so the case is likely to return to the federal appeals courts where the law’s final fate will be decided, and similar state-level restrictions have faced repeated court defeats.