Dorothy

“The solution is relatively simple… just don’t go,” he wrote. The state law called for business owners in violation of the statue to be fined up to $10,000 for hosting each event. Performers could be charged with a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of as much as a year in jail.

Under S.B. 12, business owners found in violation could be fined up to $10,000 per violation, while performers could face a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, per The Texas Newsroom’s account.

Under the law, businesses found in violation could face fines of up to $10,000, while performers could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to one year in jail.

The Texas law, Texas Senate Bill 12, imposed up to a $10,000 fine on business owners for hosting drag show events. Performers at the events could have also been charged with a class A misdemeanor.

Applying that framework, Judge Hittner concluded the law still fails constitutional muster. He pointed to two undefined terms in the statute — “visual performances” and “prurient interest in sex” — that he said sweep so broadly they could reach cheerleading routines, live theater and mainstream concerts, not just drag shows, Courthouse News reported. The judge illustrated the point by noting that performers such as Elvis Presley, Miley Cyrus and the country singer Dolly Parton have all drawn criticism over sexually suggestive elements of their acts that could theoretically trigger liability under the law.

Hittner added that the law was so overly broad as to lead even activities such as “cheerleading, dancing, live theater, and other common public occurrences” to be treated as civil or criminal violations. He also said that the law was vague on its face and that it failed “to give a reasonable person notice of what is prohibited.”

Hittner also wrote in his decision that the law was so overly broad, even activities such as “cheerleading, dancing, live theater, and other common public occurrences” could be treated as criminal acts.

Hittner also referenced Dolly Parton, saying her performances could easily have met the definition due to her being "a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure."

The judge compared the potential reach of the law to controversies surrounding other performers, noting that people criticized Elvis Presley, chastised Dolly Parton over her appearance, and condemned Miley Cyrus for “twerking” during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2023, Hittner ruled the law was unconstitutional and a First Amendment violation in 2023, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned to him last fall.

Judge Hittner had already declared the law unconstitutional once, in September 2023, before it took effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that injunction and sent the case back for reconsideration in November 2025, ordering him to reapply the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Moody v. NetChoice, which sets a narrower standard for facial First Amendment challenges. That let the law take effect in March, according to The Texas Newsroom.

"The solution is relatively simple ... just don’t go," he wrote. This is the second time Hittner has struck down the Texas law in a ruling. He did the same thing in 2023, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals handed the case back down with further instructions on how to decide the case.

One of the plaintiffs challenging the law, an Austin drag performer who goes by the stage name Brigitte Bandit, impersonates Parton in her act. Ms. Bandit said the ruling reaffirmed drag as constitutionally protected expression.

One of the plaintiffs in the case, a drag queen who performs under the name Brigitte Bandit, impersonates Parton in her performances.