CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Senate Bill 12, which aims to restrict drag performances on the premises of businesses and in the presence of children under 18, has been struck down U.S. District Judge David Hittner.
Coastal Bend resident Robyn Valentine said she has been doing drag performances for the last 11 years and she has enjoyed it.
“The original language of SB (Senate Bill) 12 it was going to force businesses that hosted drag events to reorient into an adult business,” Valentine said.
She said that she became interested in living her true colors when she watched a show that made her realize who she really was.
“I saw RuPaul’s Drag Race and I was deeply in the closet at that time, and it really encouraged me to embrace and love the person that I am,” she said.
Valentine said lawmakers are making it hard for her to live in her true identity and making it even harder to make a money to pay her bills.
“It’s feeding into the perception that the LGBTQIA+ community is targeting minors, which is just not true and if there were people doing that, target the individuals,” she said. “We as a community are not attacking your children."
Senate Bill 12 addresses restricting drag performances on the premises of a commercial businesses when children under the age of 18 are present. The bill also bans drag performers from performing on public property.
Critics of the bill said that lawmakers and have incorrectly portrayed all drag performances as sexual.
Robert Kymes works with the Corpus Christi Pride Center. He said that drag is like any other entertainer.
“Drag is just a form of performance and like any other performers, the drag performers have to know who their audience is, whose there in attendance and so it’s up to them to cater to their audience and it’s also up to the audience members to know if that show is for them or not,” Kymes said.
Hittner temporarily blocked Senate Bill 12 from taking effect on Sept. 1, 2023. Now, because he ruled it unconstitutional, the Texas Attorney General's office will appeal the ruling.
Republican state senator Bryan Hugues, who authored Senate Bill 12, said he pledges to challenge the ruling.
He told the Texas Tribune, “Surely, we can agree that children should be protected from sexually explicit performances. That's what Senate Bill 12 is about."
Valentine said no matter what she has to do, the appeal will not stop her.
“And I’ve got one thing to say. We are not giving up, were not going anywhere, you are not going to win,” she said.
Other states have passed similar legislation restricting drag performance, which have also been struck down by federal courts.
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