Chacho’s in Morgan Hill has been holding drag brunches for a few months now, and like similar shows in the country, it has come with controversy.
The latest twist came at the end of last week’s city council meeting when Mayor Mark Turner said he wanted to discuss shielding adult cabaret shows from the public, but never directly mentioned Chacho’s.
“Not that it’s illegal, but that we would make sure that these sorts of events are screened from public view,” he said. “So that children under, whatever age, 18 would not have view of those from public places.”
Councilman Rene Spring was immediately frustrated with the proposal, saying the mayor was clearly referring to the drag brunch and noting that no one is being forced to buy tickets to the shows.
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“It’s about a performance. Men dressing up as women with beautiful makeup and dresses lip-synching to fun music. Standup comedy and all of us having a good time. That’s part of the queer culture and if you attack that you attack all of us,” said Spring.
On Monday, there were signs the latest controversy may vanish.
The drag brunch shows are held on a fenced patio and late Monday, Chacho’s owner met with the mayor.
The business explained they’ve already been covering the outside with a tent because they sell tickets to the performances.
The mayor was satisfied with what he saw and heard Monday and will be dropping the agenda item from the next meeting.
All involved say discussions over this topic around the country have gotten ugly and divided communities, and say that’s not what they want for their city.
