Pro-LGBT organization Round Rock Pride could run afoul of a Texas law that prohibits sexually oriented performances in front of minors. The group’s fifth annual “Pride Festival” is set for Saturday, June 6, at Centennial Plaza.
Free and open to the public, the event is specifically marketed as family-friendly, which raises questions about potential violations to Texas law.
Senate Bill 12 passed in June 2023 prohibits “sexually oriented performances” on public property or in the presence of minors. Under the law, a performance is sexually oriented if it involves nudity or certain forms of sexual contact and “appeals to the prurient interest of sex.”
The law is currently enforceable after the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it, though litigation remains ongoing.
The upcoming festival’s performers include drag queen Cynthia Lee Fontaine.
Also featured are the Weird City Sisters, the Austin chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group has drawn pushback over its mockery of Christianity.
In 2023, then-U.S. Senator Marco Rubio protested the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, saying the group “mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith.”
A citizen concerned with the upcoming festival is raising questions about compliance with SB 12, calling on Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan and Texas officials to enforce the law.
Texas Family Project posted on X that, “Children deserve parks, festivals, and public spaces free from sexualized entertainment. Public officials should be protecting families, not championing controversial events that raise serious concerns about the appropriateness of the content for minors.”
While some have commented that not all drag is sexual, that question may ultimately be up to a court to decide.
Despite these concerns, city officials are actively promoting the event.
Mayor Morgan and City Councilmember Hilda Montgomery are both scheduled to give opening remarks. The city has also advertised the event on its official website.
Unlike Fate Mayor Andrew Greenberg, who honored “nuclear family month,” Morgan signed a proclamation officially designating June as LGBT “Pride Month” and actively promoting the upcoming “Pride Festival.”
This is not the first time the city has involved itself with the annual festival. In 2024, the Round Rock Police Department posted about officers’ participation, a move that drew criticism that “endorsing this increasingly toxic ‘identity’ brand is not healthy for the community or its families.”
