ALBEMARLE, N.C. — The city of Albemarle will not change the status of drag shows after a measure to define the performances as "adult cabaret" events failed in a vote on Monday.
Albemarle City Council members voted 4-3 to reject the measure in Monday's regularly scheduled city meeting.
Those in favor of the change were looking to group drag shows with strip clubs and adult toy stores which fit the city's definition of "adult cabaret." The move would have prevented anyone under the age of 18 from attending a drag show.
The decisive vote drew mixed responses from council members.
"I don't want to infringe on the freedom to have a drag show because there might be freedoms that people want to take away from me, so I don't want to do that," Chris Bramlett, an Albemarle councilman, said. "We wait until 18 for kids to vote and it should be the same thing here. I don't want children in those programs."
"I also value the opinion of our planning and zoning board and they voted unanimously 9 to 0 for us to vote this down," Dexter Townend, an Albemarle councilman, said. "I also value the opinion of our attorney and she said that there is no municipality in North Carolina that has an ordinance of this nature."
The vote had been planned since October when a public hearing was held on the topic, with a mixed response from the public.
The issue was brought to the attention of the city council by Brian Johnson, a pastor with Perfecting Life Global Ministries.