Texas GOP tried to write anti-drag law so it wouldn't be unconstitutional — but Abbott just messed it up
Civil rights lawyer Matthew Segal pointed to a recent tweet by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) that let the cat out of the bag on the recently signed legislation to ban drag queens from performing in public.
The bill targeted "sexually explicit performances in front of children." It doesn't mention drag queens, which made some wonder if the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were about to be shut down.
Political consultant Luke Macias, who supports the bill, spoke out at a hearing before the bill was passed through committee. State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie) asked if the law would apply to NFL cheerleaders, the Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported at the time.
“Maybe," Macias said. ”Worst scenario is we have a few less cheerleaders in Texas for a year and a half."
The "year and a half" timeline isn't clear. It might be a reference to his thought that lawmakers would come back and change the law in the future to exclude cheerleaders.
He was then asked about taking kids to the movies.
“If this bill actually extends to rated R-movies in theaters, I think that would be a huge blessing,” Macias said. “I hope it does.”
Turner also asked Macias about children at dance competitions who dance suggestively.
“The less twerking children are doing, the better off Texas would be as a society,” Macias said. “All it does is say nobody, no matter how you’re dressed, can get up and perform in a sexual manner, a prurient manner in front of a child.”
Now that it's in place, there are questions about servers at Hooters too.
Republicans once opposed what they referred to as "the nanny state," where New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to regulate the size of a Big Gulp, and first lady Michelle Obama sought to regulate junk food ads and soda machines in schools. Republicans argued that adults should be able to decide for themselves, and parents should be able to raise their kids however they wish even if that means increasing obesity.
"What's voluntary today becomes a regulation tomorrow," said then-Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) in 2011. He complained of a "nanny state" push to "regulate Honey Nut Cheerios."
Proud anti-regulation Republicans now appear very pro-regulation.
"Under Senate Bill 12, business owners would face a $10,000 fine for hosting sexually explicit performances in which someone is nude or appeals to the 'prurient interest in sex,'" The Texas Tribune explained in May. "Performers caught violating the proposed restriction could be slapped with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $4,000 fine."
As Segal explained, writing the bill to target a specific group wouldn't make it through the courts.
"The law he signed doesn’t mention drag performances, likely because lawyers thought they could insulate the law from constitutional challenge by not admitting its true aim," he tweeted Sunday.
Then Abbott tweeted: "Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public.' That's right." He included an article for MetroWeekly.