A federal appeals court has blocked West Texas A&M University from banning student drag performances on its campus, overruling a lower court order that claimed First Amendment protections do not extend to drag shows. The 2-1 decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asserts the university acted unconstitutionally when it canceled student-organized charity drag performances in 2023 and 2024. President Walter Wendler, who canceled the drag show, cited his Christian religious beliefs and the school’s public and not religiously affiliated status. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sued Wendler and West Texas A&M in 2023 on behalf of Spectrum WT, the LGBTQ student group behind the drag show, “A Fool’s Drag Race.” A district court judge denied FIRE and Spectrum WT’s motion for a preliminary injunction in 2023, and the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case following a request for emergency action by the student group. The 5th Circuit ruling, written by Judge Leslie H. Southwick, ruled that theatrical performances, including drag shows, “plainly involve expressive conduct within the protection of the First Amendment.” The ruling comes several months after a federal judge handed a victory to another student-led LGBTQ group that sued the Texas A&M University System and its flagship earlier this year over a policy banning drag performances on each of its 11 campuses.
The West Texas A&M drag ban has been blocked by a federal appeals court. ThuyTruongSpa 615
