Government
BY JESSICA SHORTEN
The Woodlands Township dropped from ACLU lawsuit over ‘drag ban’
In their own words
“It denitely impacts us as a small nonprot but also, it impacts the small businesses that come to our events and depend on us to make revenue.” JASON ROCHA, THE WOODLANDS PRIDE PRESIDENT
After an initial two-day trial starting Aug. 28 in a U.S. Southern District of Texas court, The Woodlands Township was dropped as a defendant from a lawsuit led Aug. 2 by the American Civil Liberties Union. The suit was led regarding Senate Bill 12, which went into eect Sept. 1. The bill has been labeled by groups in opposition to the bill as a drag ban due to its broad language surrounding drag performances. The ACLU led a lawsuit on behalf of a number of entities across the state including The Woodlands Pride, a nonprot organization in The Woodlands focusing on the LGBTQ community. The group holds an annual festival which includes drag performances. President Jason Rocha said the new law could aect attendance and
About the bill • SB 12 regulates “sexually oriented performances,” and it authorizes a civil penalty and a criminal offense. • Violators can be punished by a ine of up to $10,000 and a year in jail. • The lawsuit aims to prevent local entities and law enforcement agencies from enforcing the bill. sponsorships. The next festival is Oct. 21. The lawsuit was led against interim Texas Attorney General Angela Colmenero; the district attorneys of Montgomery, Taylor, Travis and Bexar counties; and entities including The Woodlands Township and Montgomery County.
What we know
The Woodlands Township was dropped from the lawsuit due to the township hav- ing no enforcement authority, according to Bret Strong, legal counsel for the township. On Aug. 8, the Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved defending the county in the case.
SOURCE: AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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