A Salt Lake City couple who kissed on a plaza adjacent to the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City earlier this month and were arrested will not be charged, the Salt Lake Tribune reports:
"The privately owned
plaza, with its wide promenade and gate-less entrance, is too inviting
and appears too much like a public passageway. Consequently, Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill said Wednesday he
will not prosecute a gay couple cited for trespassing after they shared
a kiss on the plaza. 'The two individuals believed — albeit mistakenly — that they had
the right to be there,' Gill said. '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.' Gill said his decision
not to prosecute this particular case "should not be viewed as
limiting" the ability of the church to enforce its private-property
rights on the plaza in the future. 'Going forward,' he said, 'working toward clarity [on the plaza] serves everyone's interests in this community.' Gill's analysis cites the lack of signs on the plaza that indicate
visitors are entering private property 'at will,' meaning they can be
ejected at any time for any reason."
The incident inspired demonstrations and protest "kiss-ins" in Salt Lake City and San Diego, and prompted two activists to launch a nationwide kiss-in in response, which is taking place on August 15th in cities around the nation.
