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Loading ...Gay couple detained near Mormon plaza after kiss
07.13.2009 9:06am EDT
(Salt Lake City) A gay couple say they were detained by security guards on a plaza owned by the Mormon church and later cited by police, claiming it stemmed from a kiss on the cheek.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to leave after being asked to stop their “inappropriate behavior.” The men say they were targeted because they are gay.Matt Aune said he and his partner, Derek Jones, were walking home from a concert nearby on Thursday night, cutting through the plaza near the Salt Lake City Mormon temple.
Aune, 28, said he gave Jones, 25, a hug and kiss and that the two were then approached by a security guard, who asked them to leave, telling them they were being inappropriate and that public displays of affection aren’t allowed on the property. He said other guards arrived and the men were handcuffed.
“We asked what we were doing wrong,” Aune told The Associated Press.
Church spokeswoman Kim Farah said in a statement Friday that the men were “politely asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior – just as any other couple would have been.”
“They became argumentative and used profanity and refused to leave the property,” she said. The church did not immediately respond to a request for more comment.
Police later arrived and both men were cited with misdemeanor trespassing, Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Robin Snyder said.
“It doesn’t matter what they were asked to leave for,” Snyder said. “If they are asked to leave and don’t they are … trespassing.”
The church has been the target of protests over its support of a ban on gay marriage in California.
To protest, gay couples held a kiss in Sunday at Temple Square
Great guys! They are the Rosa Parks of our people!
Muah! This happened to my partner and I as we sat too closely in a suburban nightclub Naperville, IL. It was obviously because we were 2 women because there was a lot worse going on around us among all of the college students but the bouncer chose to single us out. I immediately found his supervisor, reported the situation, and was told to stay and ignore the bouncer. I made it a point to find him and tell him his boss said he was full of sh&#, stayed for one more drink and haven’t been back since. Maybe we should have our own “Kiss In”. Anyone up for a homo-sit-in in Naperville, Illinois? LOL Seriously though, we need to keep fighting these injustices until we are no longer treated like a walking porno when we want to show our partners an innocent sign of affection….ENOUGH!
Wish I was there to serve the kiss-in participants lemonade and cookies.
There is a Mormon tabernacle here in Maryland visible from RT 495 or our Beltway near DC. Maybe a gay male friend and I can hold hands and exchange a kiss on the cheek just outside their gates on the county area so there will be nothing the temple can do about it or least hug if he doesn’t want to kiss.
Mormons and bigotry sitting on a tree.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
What gets me is when most str8 people find out you are gay or see an innocent kiss they instantly think of sex. That is all they think being gay is. I don’t know how many times I have come out to someone and suddenly I am a sex expert. People ask all kinds of questions and/or start telling me about their sex life. I am a little old fashioned when it comes to dating, courtship, fidelity, and the sanctity of marriage. Most str8 people find it funny that I do not wish to discuss my sex life or hear about theirs. My marriage is so much more than what I do in bed. Don’t get me wrong, I love sex, but it is not what my marriage or my life is based on. Ask me about our kids, our grandchildren, pets, or how we divide up the housework, not how I make love. If str8’s got their minds out of the gutters they would see we are no different than them.
@Lincoln. Well said!
We get so wrapped up in living our everyday lives, that we sometimes forget that we are gay. We are reminded quickly when a stranger from across the room points, giggles, or stares. When I see a cute couple in a Restaurant I think to myself “how cute”. When others see my partner and I just talking, they think “Sodom and Gomorrah”. Not only do they think this, but sometimes will say it out loud, just loud enough for you to hear it.
It is becoming more acceptable now, but I still remember a simple kiss between two woman on Rosanne had to be aired after 9pm (due to adult content). The same afternoon, General Hospital was showing two half naked str8 people in bed.
There was a kiss-in Fri. and another larger group on Sat., that marched through Temple Sq. and participants kissed periodically throughout the event. As an observer both days, straight couples were never asked to stop holding hands or kissing (that kind of public display is ok by the Mormon church) – It really is a blatant display of where the church stands on gays and how they must control behavior they deem inappropriate at all times. The protest need to be bigger, more organized and unapologetic!!!
Thank you TwistedPride.
How many times do you meet a 50 year old woman and say,”Oh1 You are str8?. Tell me about your sex life.” When I was young I felt it was my duty to answer questions and inform the str8 population, but the older I get I am finding it an insult. My sex life is MY Business not anyone elses.
Every other aspect of my life should not be up for a vote either.
Hets are obsessed with gay sex because it represents the freedom they don’t have in their sexuality.
the church tells them when, who with and in what position..they even say whether or not you wear a condom depending on which cult you belong to.
While for us we had to figure it out for ourselves and as a community have made our own rules. It may not be true but they think we are much more sexually free and they can’t stand it. This is why straight men are worse than woman, in my opinion (when they are truly straight..there is that other problem with “straight” anti-gay men as well)…..they want the freedom we have and they can’t even get it within their marriages.
Str8 opposition to us is based on our supposed sexual freedom and their lack of same….they even want to ban our relationships because they don’t want their children to have the sexual freedom they have been denied. They’d rather their gay children live a closeted life than a comfortable out one….only a world with our relationships banned can you have that closet guaranteed for your kids.
How sad. Kill the cults, I say.
FYI – If your not from “Zion” you wouldn’t fully understand. The “Plaza” is formerly “Main Street”. ONLY in Utah would the city sell it’s Main Street to a church, close thru traffic and not allow full public access through the heart of the city.
Yes it is private property (major mistake), but the important thing is daily dozens of “straight” couples gather here, kiss regularly and have their photographs taken in the process. Many wearing their wedding attire.
The issue isn’t about “Private Property”, the real issue is Hypocrisy and Discrimination.
Who cares what you do as long as its off Temple property. I believe that is what the caretakers stated. No PDA. What do you not understand?
Something tells me that had this been a man/woman kiss, the security personnel would not have been so quick to jump on the situation. Obvious too, is the guard(s) own discomfort level of seeing two men kiss and his feelings of homophobia and intollerance. It is only by our being out there, our being visible, our not being shy about holding hands or kissing in public, that sooner or later it will and has to become a non-issue. Heterosexuals have been flaunting their public displays of affection for generations. It is time for them to get over themselves and come to grips with the fact that love is not entirely their invention. And the sooner they realize it, the sooner everyone will be better for it.
We’d need more info to know who has the legal standing, here.
First, Utah doesn’t have an ENDA like law that protects “public accommodations,” right? If that’s so, then it’s perfectly legal to kick us gay folk off of private property for any reason, including PDA.
The second questions is whether they were on public or private property. I know it’s their plaza, but I bet they don’t own the sidewalks.
It will be interesting to see how this one plays out….
Public displays most certainly are allowed on Temple Square – zillions of Mormon couples have their engagement and/or wedding pictures taken there, and kisses about. Hypocritical bastards!
I say to them and the rest of the Christian Reich what Yoda said to the evil emporer, who also wanted to control people through fear: “At an end your rule is, and not short enough it was!”
As the Courts, Lawmakers and American Public as a whole begin to express support for equal treatment of GLBT citizens. We see bars being raided, people getting thrown out or detained from public establishments for a peck on the cheek or lips. Just when we start to see the tide of positive change for GLBT equality coming, incidents such as these are on the rise. As the majority of Americans no longer support discrimination and second-class citizenship for the gay citizens. We see religious zealots desperately ratcheting up their anti-gay rhetoric and campaigns of hatred of us into high gear. Now, more than ever, it’s time for each of us to “stand united” and say we’re mad as hell and not going take this anymore.
Lincoln hit the nail on the head. Our stra8 counterparts see the word same-sex, and focus on the word sex. It amazes me how they have such difficulty separating sex as being only apart of a loving committed relationship. This notion that gay folks spend their lives getting it on 24/7/365 is ludicrous. We have lives outside the bedroom, just as they do. We have jobs, are involved in our bettering our communities, and so on. There’s no difference in our relationships and theirs. Many see this, some don’t and some will refuse to acknowledge this. As much as we all wish, the honeymoon period doesn’t last forever, that’s life for both us and them.