Appeals Court Hears West Texas A&M’s Drag Show Ban

The Texas Tribune reports:

A federal appeals court considering whether West Texas A&M University’s president violated the First Amendment when he canceled a campus drag show last year focused many of their questions Monday on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld campus non-discrimination policies.

But the panel of three judges used that 2010 case — which said universities can require groups to admit LGBTQ+ students — to suggest that school officials could also ban drag shows because some people find the performances offensive to women.

A lawyer representing a group of West Texas A&M students who’ve twice attempted to host a drag show on campus argued before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday that President Walter Wendler discriminated based on viewpoint and censored speech when canceling the performances.

Read the full article. Wendler is being represented by the Texas Attorney General’s office, whose lawyer told the court that banning drag shows is like banning skateboarding, claiming that the ban is based on conduct, not content.

Appeals court considers whether West Texas A&M drag show was unconstitutionally bannedhttps://t.co/2fQoUQrqMr

— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) April 30, 2024