'We're overjoyed': GOP-appointed judge halts drag show ban at Texas university

A court has halted Texas A&M's attempt to stop drag shows on campus.

The Queer Empowerment Council, a student group on the College Station campus, organizes the annual "Draggieland." It was scheduled to take place on March 27, but the board of regents cited President Donald Trump's executive orders and decided to ban the shows, the Texas Tribune reported last week.

Politico's Kyle Cheney wrote on BlueSky Monday that a Republican-appointed U.S. district court judge has ruled that the First Amendment protects the shows.

“In recent years, the commitment to free speech on campuses has been both challenging and challenged,” ruled Judge Lee H. Rosenthal. Former President George H.W. Bush appointed Rosenthal to the bench in 1992, her biography says.

“There have been efforts from all sides of the political spectrum to disrupt or prevent students, faculty, and others from expressing opinions and speech that are deemed, or actually are, offensive or wrong. But the law requires the recognition and application of speech rights and guardrails that preserve and protect all our treasured First Amendment rights.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which boasts the "nation’s leading defender of fundamental rights on college campuses," celebrated the ruling, calling it a "victory."

“Today is a resounding victory for the First Amendment at public universities in Texas,” said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the FIRE, who argued at the district court last week. “The court reaffirmed that state university officials cannot block student expression they claim is offensive. State officials should stop trying to score political points at the expense of students’ First Amendment rights.”

“We’re overjoyed with today’s decision,” said the Queer Empowerment Council in a statement. “This is another display of the resilience of queer joy, as that is an unstoppable force despite those that wish to see it destroyed. While this fight isn’t over, we are going to appreciate the joy we get to bring by putting on the best show that we can do.”

Read the ruling here.