Police issue report as 2nd Utah kiss-in is planned in support of gay couple
activism, lgbt, religion Add commentsThe Salt Lake City PD finally issued their report yesterday on a gay couple that was handcuffed and detained last month for refusing to leave after being harassed by LDS security guards for briefly kissing on church property. The full report, available here, appears to contradict the story told by LDS security guards at the scene.
Spokesmen for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Salt Lake City police department have thus far declined to specify the behavior that prompted guards to ask Matt Aune, 28, and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, to leave the plaza at 50 E. North Temple. Aune said that the guards “slammed him to the ground” while detaining him; a guard disputed that claim, according to the police report.
Aune and Jones said they have seen heterosexual couples holding hands and kissing without incident on the plaza. Church spokeswoman Kim Farah has said the Aune and Jones were not singled out for being gay and that they were “politely asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior.”
However, the police report does not indicate the men were given the option to stay if they stopped kissing or hugging. It states only that the guard told the men that “they need to leave [church] property for the behavior and that [it] is unwanted,” and that the men were detained when Jones said he would not leave.
Last weekend, nearly one hundred protestors staged a “kiss-in” on church property in support of the couple. While LDS security was present, no arrests were made. Another kiss-in is scheduled for noon this Sunday.