A kiss is just a kiss... except in El Paso, Texas. There, it can be a criminal offense -- at least that is what police thought.
Two gay men, along with three of their friends, were ejected from a restaurant in El Paso after the two of them shared a kiss. A policeman was called to the scene, and he advised the men that it was illegal for two men or two women to kiss in public.
Problematic PDA
Security guards ordered five men to leave Chico's Tacos restaurant in El Paso, Texas, after one of them kissed another. According to one of the five, "It was a simple kiss on the lips." One of the guards allegedly told the five that he didn't allow "that faggot stuff" in the restaurant.
The men refused to leave, and called the police. The police arrived about an hour later.
"I went up to the police officer to tell him what was going on, and he didn't want to hear my side," one of the five men said. "He wanted to hear the security guard's side first."
Carlos De Leon, one of the five, said the officer told the group that it was illegal for two men or two women to kiss in public. The five left the restaurant after the officer threatened to issue a citation for "homosexual conduct." The police officer did not file a report.
Police declined to identify the officers who responded, but a department spokesman described one officer as relatively inexperienced.
Members of the City Council were not amused.
====
[Ed. Note: The police officer appears to have been unfamiliar with the 2003 Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down Texas's criminal statute concerning homosexual activity. The same year, the El Paso City Council banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations.]
====
An assistant manager at Chico's Tacos declined to comment. An official with All American International Security, the firm that supplied the guards, said one of the guards was contacting a lawyer.
El Paso police Detective Carlos Carrillo said a more appropriate charge would probably be criminal trespass. "The security guard received a complaint from some of the customers there," Carrillo said. "Every business has the right to refuse service. They have the right to refuse service to whoever they don't want there. That's their prerogative." [Emphasis added.]
Briana Stone of the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project disagreed, citing the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
Lisa Graybill, legal director for the ACLU of Texas, said that businesses can ask patrons to leave for lewd conduct, but that the same standards would have to apply to all customers. "If a straight couple wouldn't have gotten kicked out for it," she said, "a gay couple shouldn't."
========
[Ed. Note: This story prompts one to ask what sort of training rookie police officers get before being put out on the streets.
In a way, it's a shame that the men left. Citations issued for homosexual conduct would have been Plaintiff's Exhibit A in a juicy lawsuit against the City and against the arresting officer.]