'Rancid dissent!' Judge's 'rant' mocked by legal expert as Texas ban walloped

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down West Texas A&M's ban on drag queens on campus, and Judge James Ho issued "a rancid dissent to whine about discrimination against Christians," Slate legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern said Monday.

In a post on Bluesky, Stern linked to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that launched the lawsuit in 2023, calling it "unlawful censorship."

The lower-court judge killed the drag show, but Monday's ruling brought the freedom to perform back to life.

In his smackdown, Stern mocked Ho's "rants" as having "diminishing returns."

"The initial shock has worn off, and now it feels a little sad and desperate," wrote Stern. "And repetitive! Truly the same shtick over and over again. Reminds me of this classic Onion article."

He linked to an article saying Marilyn Manson was going door to door, trying desperately to shock people.

"Judge Ho says that permitting drag shows in college might somehow allow trans students to participate in women's sports; analogizes drag shows to blackface; calls a major Supreme Court decision 'bunk'; endorses 'broken windows' policing; and condemns 'cultural elites.'"

Stern called it part of "an audition tape for Trump," who is rumored to be searching for his next Supreme Court Justice.

“Because theatrical performances plainly involve expressive conduct within the protection of the First Amendment, and because we find the plaintiffs’ drag show is protected expression,” the Fifth Circuit held West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler's censorship didn't pass constitutional muster, FIRE noted in a release Monday.

“FIRE is pleased that the Fifth Circuit has halted President Wendler’s unconstitutional censorship and restored the First Amendment at West Texas A&M,” said FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney JT Morris. “This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors."

The student group, Spectrum WT, can now move forward with hosting drag shows on campus.

See the full ruling here.