ALBEMARLE, N.C. — Changes could be coming to the city of Albemarle.
On Monday, the Albemarle City Council was set to discuss the treatment of drag shows, reconsidering reclassifying drag shows as a "sexual-oriented business or activity."
This comes a few months after two board members of the city's planning and zoning committee were caught using homophobic slurs on a hot mic during a city council meeting about the classification of drag shows in August.
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Both city leaders resigned a few days after the incident. At the time, Mayor Elbert Whitley told WCNC Charlotte that he does not condone the speech used and it does not reflect the city.
Brian Johnson, a pastor with Perfecting Life Global Ministries submitted a form to the council asking for a change. Johnson is requesting for the council to classify drag shows as an "adult cabaret."
Adult cabaret includes:
- People who appear nude or semi-nude
- Live performances with exposure to sexual activities
- Videos that depict or describe sexual activities
Resident Chris Morgan told WCNC Charlotte that the city is changing and people of all backgrounds are moving into the area.
"It’s something that has been talked about and widespread throughout the town for the last two months," Morgan said.
Morgan said he has friends who perform in these drag shows and the recent change is discriminatory and an attack on the LGBTQ community.
"For Stanly County, we have a large population of LGBT members," Morgan said. "There are children, teens, adults, it’s not the representation I want to show, it’s not the love, it’s nothing I want out of this town."
WCNC Charlotte contacted Johnson, Mayor Whitley and other city leaders about the upcoming meeting. As of now, there has not been a response.
Councilmember Bill Aldridge was not present at Monday's meeting, however, and asked council to delay the vote to next month. As a result, council continued its decision process of the text amendment until Nov. 6.
There will not be a public hearing at the Nov. 6 meeting.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.