N.C. officials go after Raleigh male ’sex club’

by Matt | December 3rd, 2008 |

Republican City Councilman Philip Isley (top right) spoke out against a supposed private male sex club. Surprise, surprise: Anti-gay connections abound.

Concerns over non-profit management and regulation in North Carolina are being raised after a supposed “sex club” for men registered as a non-profit. The North Carolina Secretary of State has jumped into the fray.

Secretary Elaine Marshall says the state has no power to regulate non-profits, unless they receive state grants or other monies, and that non-profits like schools and churches are exempt from filing reports with the State Department.

Marshall told local news station WRAL that the group “did what is required by law — organizers filled out the paperwork and sent it in.”

“We at the Secretary of State’s Office register, we don’t regulate,” Marshall told the news station. “If somebody’s intent is to scam, the only thing this does is, maybe, give them a nice name they can select.”

The Secretary said “that eventually civil and criminal law would have caught up with the club anyway,” according to WRAL.

The group under scrutiny, the “Marketing and Networking Fellowship Group,” managed to “fly under the radar” long enough to almost open shop this October.

From WRAL:

A group registered as a nonprofit agency is raising the eyebrows of one Raleigh elected leader, inspectors and police – all who say they are trying to determine if there’s something illegal going on.

According to an e-mail advertisement from the Marketing and Networking Fellowship Group, the business – off of U.S. Highway 64 in northeast Raleigh – is a place for men to engage in sexual activities 24 hours a day for a monthly membership fee.

Neighboring businesses say they have seen mattresses, TVs and bar stools recently being delivered in anticipation of an open-house event scheduled for Wednesday evening.

That meeting, however, was canceled Wednesday afternoon after city inspectors attempted to get an explanation for the establishment.

“This is effectively a brothel,” Raleigh City Councilman Philip Isley said. “Or it’s a place where people can pay for sex, which, I hope, in this day and age is still illegal.”

Attempts to contact three individuals listed on paperwork for the group – Joshua Stilwell, Greg Leonard and Calvin Pleasants – were unsuccessful. A fourth individual who answered the door at an address on the paperwork had no comment.

City leaders said they were unaware of the group and that it has no building permits and no business or adult entertainment licenses.

“This sort of thing is so out of the scope of what I could ever imagine happening,” Isley said. “I mean, it’s almost – I wonder if it’s a hoax.”

Yup. There’s a reason why North Carolina has no bathhouses. In fact, there hasn’t been one here since the 1980s. State and Raleigh officials are wasting their time balking over a project that would have likely failed anyway.

And, although homophobia is certainly rampant around these parts, let’s not jump to conclusions. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has been a huge ally in state government. And despite being a Republican and his name popping up every time “sexual orientation” becomes a controversy, I can’t find one instance of Philip Isley publicly demonizing queer folks. In fact, he told The Independent Weekly that he’d consider domestic partnerships in the City of Raleigh if they were ever put on the table.

But… he is identified as an ally against adding sexual orientation to the city’s human relations commission mision statement by a radical fundamentalist group in the area. And… he voted against that proposal when it was finally brought to the City Council on April 6, 2004.

Oh… AND… Isn’t it interesting that Mr. Lawyer/Mr. City Councilman also served as the attorney for Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the whole “godless”/”gay-supporting” anti-Hagan ad?