Utah Not Quite a Fascist Theocracy (yet)

Salt Lake City prosecutors have dropped criminal tresspassing charges against Matt Aune and Derek Jones. Remember them? They were handcuffed and roughed up by Mormon church security guards after they were spotted kissing and holding hands in a plaza that abuts the LDS temple. Mormon authorities claim the pair were engaging in "groping, profane and lewd language," which Aune and Jones dispute. But since the church owns the plaza, they felt they could police the behavior of anyone walking through.

Prosecutor Sim Gill disagreed, at least in this case, citing the ambiguous nature of Main Street Plaza, which many, including Aune and Jones, mistake for a public park.

"Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that [openness] in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property," says Gill, although he stresses his decision "should not be viewed as limiting" the church's right to exercise control over its property in the future. Translation: if you want to operate a iron-fisted theocracy on your church grounds, you need to make that clear to passers-through.

Kiss Off

Picture it: two lovebirds, strolling hand in hand through a park at night; one leans in and kisses the other on the cheek. A charming little scene, no? Well, not if the park abuts a Mormon temple, and the two lovebirds are both male. In this case, the scene ends with our lovebirds pinned to the ground, handcuffed by church security guards.

This really happened, two weeks ago in Salt Lake City. On July 9th, Matt Aune and Derek Jones say they were walking home from a concert and decided to take a shortcut through Main Street Plaza. Holding hands while walking, Aune says he put his hand on his partner's back and kissed him on the cheek. This attracted church security guards, who told the men to leave the plaza, which just happens to be owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The guards told the pair that public displays of affection are barred on the plaza, but the men protested, saying they had seen many couples holding hands and kissing there. Tensions flared, and the church guards handcuffed the men, pinned them to the ground, and called the police, who issued both men citations for criminal tresspass.

That's the thing about Main Street Plaza. It is private property; the LDS church aquired it from the city in a controversial land swap in 2003. The church wanted control of the land next to their temple so they could prohibit protests, smoking, sunbathing and other "offensive, indecent, obscene, lewd or disorderly speech, dress or conduct," according to church officials.

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, "it remains a popular pedestrian thoroughfare, and a site where couples often pose affectionately for photos." I wonder if hand-holding, hugging, or kisses on the cheek are included in that definition of "affection." No doubt the couples in those cases are straight, and left alone by church security guards.

Of course, church spokesperson Kim Farah had a different version of the story. "They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol." Farah doesn't specify that the "profane and lewd language" occured after the pair were handcuffed and manhandled by church guards. It's also fair to point out that what constitutes " passionate kissing" and "groping" is probably in the eye of the beholder. In the end it's the church's word against the couple's. Who do you believe?

This past Sunday, a protest was held near Main Street Plaza. About 100 people showed up and held a mass "kiss in." Both gay and straight couples took part, engaging in "gentle displays of affection"; hugs and pecks on the cheek. This, of course, was met with counter protesters, carrying signs denouncing homosexuality, and the two groups engaged in shouting matches. Dan Savage has some beautiful photos of the protest here.