Texas A&M Can’t Ban “Draggieland” Drag Show, Federal Judge Rules
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas A&M University System from enforcing a ban on drag shows being held at its special event venues.
The ruling allowed Draggieland, an event scheduled for March 27 at the flagship university’s Rudder Theatre in College Station, to go on as planned.
Draggieland is an annual pageant where contestants wear clothing or makeup that often, but does not always, run counter to their expected gender identity. The contestants dance and answer questions afterward about what drag and LGBTQ culture means to them. It has repeatedly sold out the 750-seat venue since it started in 2020.
In her March 24 ruling, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
“Anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy: don’t go,” Rosenthal wrote.
The students said while their fight isn’t over, they were overjoyed by the decision and vowed to share that joy by putting on the best show possible.
Plaintiff’s argument
The Queer Empowerment Council sued after the system’s board of regents passed a resolution Feb. 28 banning drag performances across all 11 campuses. The council argued that the public universities are not allowed to censor student performances based on their personal dislike of its content or perceived ideology.