Judge Rules Texas A&M’s Drag Ban Unconstitutional

metroweekly.com:

ruling, Rosenthal found that the Queer Empowerment Council, which organizes the event, was likely to succeed in proving the ban violates the First Amendment.

Rosenthal’s ruling comes after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents passed a resolution in February banning drag performances from all 11 state university campuses on the grounds that drag — specifically, the idea of biological male performers dressing as women — is allegedly offensive and demeaning to women, “inconsistent” with the university’s core values, and creates a “hostile environment” for women in violation of federal law.The Queer Empowerment Council sued the university, arguing that the ban violates students’ and performers’ First Amendment rights and engaged in censorship or viewpoint discrimination against those who either do not find drag offensive or don’t hold socially conservative political beliefs.Rosenthal, a George H.W.

Bush appointee, rejected the board of regents’ argument that the Rudder Theatre is a “limited public forum,” noting that the venue can be reserved either by students or by members of the general public, with no evidence that a request to book the venue has ever been rejected.She noted that a university rule on “expressive activity” says that any advance reservation of campus space is not supposed to be denied based on the content of performances or a group’s viewpoint.“[T]he Draggieland event is consistent with the other types of events that have been held at the Rudder Theatre previously — plays, musicals, beauty pageants, and speakers.

When, as here, ‘a university by policy and practice opens up an area for indiscriminate use by the general public, or by some segment of the public, such as student organizations, such.