Gay ‘kiss-ins’ smack Mormon church

[harry_pothead]

Source: MSNBC

SALT LAKE CITY - The Mormon church's vigorous support for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California last year, has turned the Utah-based faith into a lightning rod for gay rights activism, including a nationwide "kiss-in" Saturday.

The event comes after gay couples here and in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, were arrested, cited for trespassing or harassed by police for publicly kissing. In Utah, the July 9 trespassing incident occurred after a couple were observed by security guards on a downtown park-like plaza owned by the 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The court case was dismissed, but the kiss sparked a community backlash and criticism of the church.

"I don't think that kiss would have turned out to be the kiss heard round the world if it were not for Proposition 8," said Ash Johnsdottir, organizer of the Salt Lake City Kiss-In.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32431213/ns/us_news-life/

---

This made me smile. Hats off to our gay and lesbian friends.

[petronius]

1. What a delightfully tongue-in-cheek form of protest!

;)

[No Elephants]

11. What a delightfully tongue in cheek post! Thanks for the early morning smile.

[mitchum]

2. I attended the one here in town today...

and I saw two Mormon boys watching the event.
I assumed they happened to just be passing by, but now I doubt that it was a coincidence.

[awoke_in_2003]

3. if public displays of affection...

are not illegal for straight couples, then they are not illegal for gay couples. Civil rights for all, or none.

[Heidi]

4. Recommended. (nt)

[Unvanguard]

5. You don't mess with us. We'll get our revenge deliciously.

:)

[bjobotts]

6. Kiss ins work. If 40,000 black people went to kiss Pat Buchanan he'd be afraid to leave his house

[No Elephants]

12. Pat's staying abreast of change. Mexicans are now his worst nightmare.

I remember when I heard Pat say he cries every time he hears The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down.

How MSNBC gets away with having that racist xenophobe on almost every show is beyond me.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. He got there via the homophobia highway

The racism ramped up after the anti-gay screeds got him so much attention and so many jobs. One leads to the other.

[myrna minx]

7. Excellent. K&R n/t

[William769]

8. And some people wonder why we fight so hard and hold politicians feet to the fire

When they promise something and then renig on that promise.

And to all you that say it's 2009 stop your bitching and whining, this is for you.

FUCK YOU!

on edit: K&R!

[TankLV]

9. Good for the GOOD guys and gals!!! Fuck the Mormon CULT!!!

Too bad I didn't know about this earlier, I would have participated...

[Solly Mack]

10. K&R

[No Elephants]

13. I agree with the comment of a young woman whose Dad is gay:

"I encourage them to promote the values they believe in and to defend their religious principles in advertisements, but civil rights have nothing to do with religious principles," she said.

It would be fantastic if there were never a conflict between religion and equal rights for all people However, she strikes a good balance during the interim--until our hearts, minds and spirits evolve.

[Norrin Radd]

14. kr

[jb5150]

15. Kissing

is as American as mom, apple pie and..........



............BASEBALL

[David__77]

30. That's hot!

I like it!

[Bluenorthwest]

17. I love a good news story like this!

May the Mormons be hounded daily by the love that they despise

[shadowknows69]

18. Awesome beyond words

Hell, I'm straight, and I'd kiss another man just to piss off the Mormons. Someone needs to organize millions of these lol.

[jeff30997]

19. K&R

Great story and great way to get back at the Moron church.

[marshall]

21. The next step is to take on the rest of the California churches

The catch 22 with the election was that the many churches that gave implicit support to Obama and helped push votor turnout also opposed marriage equality.

[PeaceNikki]

20. Seems like a good place for this

[Tim01]

22. It is nearly impossible to change religious extremists.

They will simply say god is right and you are wrong.

[jb5150]

24. If we can't change them

the least we can do is piss em off......

[GinaMaria]

28. or clip their wings with very strong legal boundaries

They went too far this time. The wall between church and state must be solid. A sheer curtain will not suffice.

[BuckeyeBrad]

31. You don't need to change all of them

True, but not all religious people are empty headed extremists. I used to side with right wing evangelical Christians on a majority of issues but slowly changed my mind over time after listening to well reasoned arguments, observing what Bush's backers were doing to our country, and some later independent research. Deeper thought on freedom of religion was enough to change my mind on the issue even back when I thought homosexuality was wrong. If people's minds were incapable of being changed, there would never be new religions, philosophies, or countries. You can't worry about the minds you can't change, as you really don't know who those people are. Someone can be vitriolic in their views and seemingly unmovable on the outside, but having deep internal struggles over their beliefs out of view of the rest. All you can do is make your views known through demonstration and sound logical argument.

[Sultana]

23. That's hot!

:D

[Arugula Latte]

25. Hah hah! LOVE it!

:bounce:

[KamaAina]

26. Pucker up, everyone!

:loveya:

[jumptheshadow]

27. I am so happy to see the support for this

During the Republican convention I called for a "kiss-in" in NYC and was criticized by fellow DUers for encouraging "public displays of affection." They just didn't get it.

[Javaman]

29. There is passive resistance and now we have kissing resistance. :)

Cheers!

[Norrin Radd]

32. Hot.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[customerserviceguy]

34. Could this be merely dismissed

as lip service?

You go, Utah kissers! Being straight and non-Mormon is hard enough there, I cannot imagine what you go through.