Two civil rights groups are demanding that the University of Texas System end a drag ban that was announced after a request from Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter to UT dated April 22, calling the ban a violation of the First Amendment.
"We're seeing crackdowns on the freedom of speech, and we are seeing efforts to drive LGBTQ people out of public life, and this drag ban falls right at the center of it," ACLU staff attorney Chloe Kempf said in an interview Wednesday.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare asked for the ban in his own letter last month.
“The UT System exists to provide quality education to hundreds of thousands of students. Rather than promoting anything to do with education, drag shows and related events denigrate women,” O'Hare wrote in the letter posted to X, dated March 13.
Yesterday, I sent a letter to the UT-System Board of Regents regarding the use of taxpayer resources for sexually-oriented events. pic.twitter.com/vV5dj8fyLq
— Office of Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare (@TarrantCoJudge) March 14, 2025
When asked for a response, UT Board Chair Kevin P. Eltife told KERA News that public university facilities “will not serve as venues for drag shows.”
"If the Board of Regents needs to take further action to make this clear, we will do so," he wrote in an emailed statement.
KERA News has reached out to the UT System and O’Hare’s office for further comment.
Just because someone doesn't like drag doesn't mean it's not protected speech, the ACLU/FIRE letter argues.
“In the same way that some people may not appreciate UT allowing students, staff, or visitors to engage in prayer on campus or wear t-shirts supporting rival universities, the fear that such speech may be ‘offensive’ to some is not a constitutionally permissible reason to ban it,” the letter states.
The ACLU/FIRE letter also points out a federal judge recently blocked a drag ban at Texas A&M.
"Anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy: don't go," U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal ruled.
Rosenthal’s ruling allowed A&M’s annual drag competition, Draggieland, to go on as scheduled.
Anyone impacted by UT's ban should reach out to the ACLU, Kempf said.
"Our hope genuinely is that they will respond and they will prioritize the protection of their students' First Amendment rights on campus," she said. "But if they don't, I think we will consider all of the legal and other options on the table."
This story has been updated with comments from ACLU staff attorney Chloe Kempf.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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