Charges against the gay couple cuffed,
detained and cited for trespassing over a kiss have been dropped, the
Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Security guards for the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) cuffed and detained Matt
Aune, 28, and his partner Derek Jones, 25, on June 9, a Thursday, as
they walked across the Main Street Plaza, a walkway that connects the
Mormon Temple to other church sites that belong to the church in Salt
Lake City, Utah. Police responding to the incident cited the couple
for trespassing.
While church officials say “there was
much more involved than a simple kiss on the cheek,” responding
officers were told that security guards observed the men “kissing
and hugging” on church property.
In a statement released after the
police report, church officials alleged the men were “engaged in
passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had
obviously been using alcohol.”
Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill
announced the charges had been dropped in a statement released
Wednesday.
Gill said the charges were being
dropped because there “continues to be a mistaken belief by many
visitors that there is a public right of way” on the Main Street
Plaza.
“There is conflicting notice to those
who walk onto and through this corridor that they do so with
permission and exclusive pleasure of the property owner,” Gill
said. “There is no personal right to be there and no necessity for
the property owner to explain if and why the property owner wishes to
eject a visitor.”
Still, Gill sided with the couple,
saying there was no criminal intent to commit trespassing, and blamed
the scuffle on the church for not clearly communicating with the
public.
“There were no signs clearly
indicating the 'at will' capacity to eject – for any reason –
persons who entered this private property. Under this statute when
the property is 'open to the public' Utah law provides that even if
there is a violation of the statute, there is still the affirmative
defense for the defendant that such conduct did not 'substantially
interfere' with the owner's use of the property.”
The incident has renewed a heated
debate on anti-gay discrimination by the Mormon Church.
Demonstrators both gay and straight held two “kiss ins” near
church property to protest the incident.