No smooching allowed on Mormon Main Street Plaza
Last week two gay men were arrested in the Main Street Plaza portion of Mormon Temple Square. Derek Jones and Matthew Aune were walking through the Plaza when one kissed the other on the cheek. They were then approached by security personnel asked to cease their public display of affection or to leave the premises. Apparently the Mormon Church has a policy against PDA in the area. Jones and Aune reportedly refused the request, responded with profanity, and were arrested for trespassing.
The background of the Plaza has been contentious. The Mormon Church purchased the land from the city in 2003 in a land swap deal, but the exchange was plagued by lawsuits almost from the get-go. The ACLU sued along with other parties, challenging the deal as unconstitutional because the Church could then limit speech on the property that had formerly been a public forum. The LDS Church eventually won the lawsuit and prohibited a variety of activities in the plaza, including protesting, smoking, sunbathing, and offensive conduct of any sort. The prohibition against protesting didn’t stop a group on Sunday that participated in a “kiss-in, ” but they were promptly shooed off the property when the police arrived. No citations were issued.
As a matter of legal rights, I think the Mormon Church or any other private or religious organization is free to set whatever silly rules it wants. My only concern in this case is the issue of notice. I have visited Salt Lake City, but I don’t know if any signs are posted in the area with a code of conduct. Particularly given that the Plaza was once public property, some signage seems appropriate. Nevertheless, even without signage, this restriction is probably safely on the side of legality, even though it’s terrible PR. It’s also worth noting that the PDA rule is apparently enforced on both heterosexual and homosexual couples, though that doesn’t enter into my analysis of the policy’s legality.
For a first-hand discussion of the Plaza and the enforcement of the PDA rule, I recommend Ryan’s post on the subject Right Juris.
Photo credit: Edgar Zuniga, Jr.
Update: See the LDS Church’s statement about the incident for more information as to the alleged conduct of Jones and Aune. The statement does not, however, change the legal analysis, in my opinion.
Further Update: The police report from the incident is available here.
“…the Mormon Church has a policy against PDA in the area.”
Nope. Whatever those gay guys were doing they were only stopped because they were gay.
That is definitely the inference drawn by many of the kiss-in protesters, but even if that were the case, it’s worth noting that it still wouldn’t be illegal.
I would also note that the Mormon Church recently released a statement saying that Jones and Aune had been “engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol.” If true, that would seem to bolster the decision to ask them to leave the Plaza. To my knowledge, the actual subject of their arrests, their refusal to leave, is not contested.
Peter,
“I would also note that the Mormon Church recently released a statement saying that Jones and Aune had been “engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol.” If true, that would seem to bolster the decision to ask them to leave the Plaza. To my knowledge, the actual subject of their arrests, their refusal to leave, is not contested.”
I find it very interesting that all these allegations about these men’s behavior came out long after the church was getting egg on their faces. Some how the first statements by the church mentioned nothing about anything but the kiss and use of profanity when they were confronted. No one has ever talked about what this profanity was. I think calling it profanity makes us think of the worst examples possible, but in reality that could include a wide range of statements.
Also, anyone has ever walked the grounds of any temple has seen a lot of kissing. I for one has never seen any complaints about it.
There were a few new allegations in this recent statement, including the alleged groping and obvious alcohol use. But the first article I read on the subject (in the Salt Lake Tribune) included a LDS spokesperson’s statement about the profanity, as did the police report. That article was dated several days before the recent statement and before the kiss-in.
I’m not sure much can be read into the timing of the statement. I find it unsurprising that the Mormon Church’s PR people felt the need to respond to public criticism. I’d be surprised if they didn’t. If no one was paying attention to the issue, they wouldn’t have bothered to issue a statement.