Fighting the good fight
Chaselyn Wade Vance, under her stage name of Star Michaels, left, with drag brunch host Serif Drag brunch promoter Chaselyn Wade Vance works to keep her business alive as the fight over SB 12 continues MELISSA WHITLER | Contributing Writer editor@dallasvoice.com At the beginning of September, Senate Bill 12, went into effect, supposedly to regulate sexually oriented performances which — thanks to its vague definition — includes drag shows.
Couched as a way to protect kids, any venue that hosts a drag show is labeled as a “sexually oriented business” no matter if it’s age-21-and-up event or a private, ticketed event.
A federal district judge in the Southern District of Texas enjoined enforcement of SB 12 before it was even set to go into effect on Sept.
1, and, as of Tuesday, Sept. 19, has declared the measure unconstitutional. But none of that stopped the measure from creating a crisis for Texas drag performers as venues, scared of being potential legal consequences, had already started cancelling scheduled drag performances.
