Cottonwood City Councilwoman Lisa DuVernay and Councilman Stephen DeWillis requested the introduction of a draft ordinance that would prohibit minors from attending adult-oriented performances in a roundabout attempt to clamp down on drag shows during the council’s Aug. 8 meeting.
By a 4-3 vote, the council decided not to direct staff to pursue the creation of such an ordinance.
DuVernay claimed that a lack of communication is the reason that the draft was not put on the agenda sooner. She also claimed that contemporary drag shows are too sexual and are not family-friendly.
On Aug. 8, DuVernay wrote on the social media site Gettr, “Wish me luck, fellow patriots. After seven long months and many, many hours battling our mayor and attorney, I will be presenting a draft ordinance that restricts minors from ‘adult entertainment’ [drag] at the Cottonwood city council meeting today.”
DeWillis claimed that four states currently have passed bills that prevent minors from attending adult-oriented performances and include statutory language targeting drag shows, and that he believed they have enough information to move forward with the ordinance. Other states do not mention drag shows in statute or class them as “adult-oriented” in all instances.
The council went into executive session for legal advice on giving staff direction on moving forward with the draft.
After reconvening, Vice Mayor Debbie Wilden said that she believed the proposed ordinance would expose the city to attack both legally and nationally.
“I am confident that we should not move forward with this,” Wilden said. “I don’t think we should tell a parent how to raise their children.”
Councilwoman Jackie Nairn concurred and commented that she was concerned with the idea of making decisions for other people’s children. She pointed out that parents could potentially sue the council for taking away their right to choose.
Nairn then reminded those in the audience that the council was respectful of all of the residents who had spoken during the previous months and asked the same of them. Ignoring her request, a number of residents shouted disrespectful comments at council.
Councilwoman Helaine Kurot said that state law is already clear on what constitutes adult entertainment, and her colleagues reiterated that there are laws in place that prevent minors from attending adult entertainment events or venues, such as strip clubs.
Councilman Derek Palosaari was not present, but phoned in to say that he was in favor of moving forward with the ordinance, without making any additional comments.
“I don’t feel like we have a legal path forward from banning minors from adult themed entertainment,” Mayor Tim Elinski said. He said that it is too early to tell if the other bills mentioned by DeWillis will hold up in court, as several are currently being challenged in their states.
“I don’t want to drag the city into a First Amendment lawsuit that will cost the taxpayers tens of thousands dollars,” Elinski added, noting that the city would most likely lose such a suit.
The council decided not to give direction to the city attorney to pursue the ordinance further; DuVernay, DeWillis and Palosaari opposed the decision.
DuVernay then threatened to get her own attorney, stating that she has the right to sue the city.
“I would like an explanation why we’re not following what is going on in the past,” DuVernay said. “It appears that I am facing discrimination here, and if that’s the case, I’ll move forward with that.”
