Kissed Off In Salt Lake City

You gotta love the gay community.

We dress fabulously. And we act fast; along with some help from our straight allies.

After the 'detention of Derek Jones and Matt Aune for kissing in the Mormon Church's Main Street Plaza, a Kiss-In was held.

I would have called it a Kiss-Off.

Isabelle Warnas smiled, her lips bright red, as she planted a big kiss on her husband's cheek. She said she's done this often on the LDS property and never been bothered by anyone for doing so.

Ah, Isabelle, you're straight,m and the Mormon Church has no problem with you.

Isabelle and her hubby were just one of hundreds of couples, gay and straight, who gathered Monday morning near Main Street Plaza to show support for Derek Jones and Matthew Aune. The two men say they were detained by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints security guards after one man had kissed the other on the cheek Thursday. They had argued with the guards and were later cited for trespassing.

"My husband and I cannot understand the discrimination," Warnas said. "This is not right."

Several LDS Church security guards goosestepped along the perimeter, watching, and turning away protestors who dared to cross the plaza. You know, you don't want the gays touching your property and all.

"They were asked repeatedly not to come onto the property, and they chose to do so anyway," said LDS church spokeswoman Kim Farah, who also said, in a prepared statement:. "We are glad they come ... . We do ask that certain guidelines be kept on church property, including that no demonstrations are allowed here."

Especially of the gay and gay-friendly variety.

The protest seemed to converge on two p0ints: anger over Mormon support of Prop H8, and the frustration over the city's sale of the plaza to the Mormon church some ten years ago.

"A lot of people feel disrespected, feel less than fully human because of church policies toward gay and lesbian people, and that's got to stop," said Salt Lake City Councilman Luke Garrott, who represents the downtown district. The sale 0of the plaza to the church allowed the church to ban objectionable activities like protesting, sunbathing, two men kissing.

Nice work, people of Salt Lake City.

Stand up against the hate.