Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court barred West Texas A&M University from enforcing a ban on drag shows on campus, overruling a lower court's decision that said drag shows did not necessarily enjoy First Amendment protections.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of the LGBTQ+ Spectrum WT student group and two of its student leaders who sued the school in March 2023, after university president Walter Wendler unilaterally canceled their then-upcoming charity drag show by arguing such performances were comparable to blackface and against his religious beliefs.
The appeals court ruling puts a hold on Wendler's ban, allowing the student group to host drag shows on campus amid litigation.
"FIRE is pleased that the Fifth Circuit has halted President Wendler's unconstitutional censorship and restored the First Amendment at West Texas A&M," JT Morris, supervising senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.
"This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors."
