A federal judge name-checked Dolly Parton on Tuesday as he struck down a drag ban law in Texas on the same day the country icon’s death was announced. In his ruling, Judge David Hittner argued the law, SB 12, was overly broad, poorly defined and infringed on First Amendment rights. He noted that the legislation, which threatens fines and jail time for people associated with “sexually oriented” performances, could impact a wide variety of performers, including the late Tennessee songstress.
He also noted ballerinas, gymnasts and stand-up comedians might be stifled by the bill. The federal judge, a Ronald Reagan appointee, argued there was a simple solution for people offended by drag shows and other performances that might feature sexual material: “Just don’t go.” “Today, we get to celebrate a victory over an effort to intimidate our community into being quieter, smaller and less visible,” Kerry Lynn, founder of the drag production company Extragrams, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said in a statement to The New York Times. The singer is often imitated in drag shows, and she has a large queer fan base.
Throughout her life, Parton bucked expectations given her background as a devout Christian from rural Tennessee and was a vocal LGBTQ+ ally who regularly championed queer people. On multiple occasions, Parton also spoke out in the face of restrictive laws targeting LGBTQ+ people in the South. Six states have laws that explicitly or implicitly restrict drag performance, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
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