CHARLOTTE — The N.C. Bar Association is under fire after the president of the association made the decision to cancel a committee’s planned drag trivia night. The association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee was planning the nonmandatory social event for next month at Motorco Music Hall in Durham.
On May 5, NCBA President Clayton Morgan emailed the committee to say he was canceling the June 8 event. The email did not say why. On May 8, Morgan joined the committee’s meeting and said he was canceling the event over worries about how the General Assembly might feel about it. He said the association will not “steer into contested politics.”
Political viewpoints will be inferred by the General Assembly,” Morgan told committee members, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Channel 9. “Given the nature of how drag shows are being used and portrayed, it is likely that our Bar Association-backed legislative agenda will be negatively affected. If that occurs, then our association’s agenda will be compromised for this year, maybe next.”
WFAE also obtained a recording of the meeting and reported on the event’s cancellation.
Charlotte attorney Michael Roessler resigned from the North Carolina Bar Association over the forced cancellation. Roessler says no evidence was presented to show the General Assembly cared about the nonmandatory social event.
“The Bar Association made a promise to LGTBQ people. It promised to stand for full equality,” he said. “They have showed us they will cave on the small things, and we have absolutely no reason to believe they will stand with us on the big things.”
The president also suggested the LGBTQ committee hold events that present opposing viewpoints.
“You could have a forum discussion where you present both sides, like we typically like to do,” Morgan told committee members. “Both sides and neutral moderator, get the issues out there that way you are not perceived as trying to advance your agenda on the world.”
Roessler says that suggestion was hurtful.
Read More
