Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty today announced she has joined more than 60 public safety and criminal justice experts from around the nation to urge the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to block Texas Senate Bill 12 (S.B. 12) on the grounds of it being unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The public safety and criminal justice experts include law enforcement leaders, state and federal judges, U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Department of Justice officials.
Crafted to target drag performers, S.B. 12 undermines public safety by forcing police with limited resources to make judgments on what constitutes an acceptable artistic performance and erodes trust in law enforcement and the justice system among vulnerable groups of people.
“The bizarre obsession with criminalizing creative performances, targeting business owners who host these performances, and placing additional burdens on overworked law enforcement officers is at the heart of this proposal,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “We have seen before that efforts like this quickly spread from one state to another, making it important to oppose these dangerous efforts to oppress vulnerable communities and make police officers and prosecutors redirect resources from addressing violent crime. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals must affirm the lower court’s order and block this bill from becoming law.”
If implemented, S.B. 12 would create a vague category of criminalized speech with no exceptions for artistic, literary, or political value, while also lacking clear criteria of what can be considered part of that category.
The vague wording of the law increases the likelihood of selective enforcement, putting vulnerable groups at risk while requiring resources better spent on combatting serious crimes that impact the safety of our communities.
A complete version of the amicus brief, filed 4/17/24, is available here.