GAY couple Matt Aune, 28 and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, felt the full fury of Mormon security guards when they exchanged a kiss on Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City earlier this week.
Matt Aune and Derek Jones
According to this report, several security guards rushed over and told the pair to leave the area, saying that public displays of affection were not allowed on church property.
When they protested, the guards put Jones on the ground and handcuffed him. Aune said he was also cuffed roughly, and suffered bruises and a swollen wrist.
The plaza was once part of public area, but was acquired by the Church of Latter Day Saints in a controversial land-swap deal with the city. The deal allowed the church to ban protesting, smoking, sunbathing and other:
Offensive, indecent, obscene, lewd or disorderly speech, dress or conduct.
In a written statement, church spokeswoman Kim Farah denied the two were singled out for being gay. The church contends that Aune and Jones were:
Asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior just as any other couple would have been. They became argumentative and used profanity and refused to leave the property. They were arrested and then given a citation for criminal trespass by Salt Lake City Police Department.
Farah said the two men “became argumentative,” refused to leave, and used profanity.
Aune admitted swearing:
When I was handcuffed, I was very pissed [angry] and I unleashed a flurry of profanities.
UPDATE: July 12 – About 100 people gathered near the Mormon church’s downtown temple to stage a “kiss-in” protesting the treatment of Aune and Jones.
According to this report, former Salt Lake City Councilwoman Deeda Seed helped organise today’s kiss-in.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its Web site that heterosexual and gay couples exchanged small kisses and pecks at the plaza’s south entrance, which faces downtown. Church security was present. The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reported on its Web site that no altercations occurred.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
July 11th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Why gay people choose to live in Utah I'll never know.
July 11th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
News flash, gay people live everywhere. Did you ever consider that gay and straight people enjoy living in Utah for its beauty and outdoors? It is just unfortunate that there is such intolerance of "others" that are different from the masses. You probably think that gay people also "choose" to be gay, right?
July 12th, 2009 at 1:02 am
erm, okay.. I don't know why this is relevant to this story.. I don't see where it says they live in Utah..or if they do, that they chose to live in Utah.. It may be that they have grown up there and find it difficult to leave, for many reasons.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:56 am
I think a large group of people should go to this park and start getting it on in public or have a massive heavy metal conert or a rave or something
July 12th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Mormons=wierd scary dudes.
July 12th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Gay people aren't going to move from what is probably their hometown just because some people are idiots. Sometimes you can't change where you live. Simple fact.
July 12th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Salt Lake City has a large gay community. Many are former church members who went on missions and had a temple marriage. Being gay is big problem for mormons and many stay in the closet most of their lives because they are told it is such a horrible sin. From the time they are three years old they are indoctrinated in the churches dogma and the results are quite sad. Unfortunately, the local government often acts in collusion with the church. This land swap deal is a very good example. Swapping prime downtown real estate so that the church can block protests outside the temple is criminal.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:48 am
My immediate raction too, Zombiehunter! What is wrong with people in America? I`m sure that in Europe this would have been the response!!
July 12th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Didn`t we have a somewhat similar story recently involving the Roman Catholic Church? (http://freethinker.co.uk/2009/.....ge-over-... ) These civic leaders can`t be acting within the law, surely?
July 12th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Didn`t we have a somewhat similar story recently involving the Roman Catholic Church? ( http://freethinker.co.uk/2009/.....ge-over-... ) These civic leaders can`t be acting within the law, surely?
July 12th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
The thought occurs to me to ask, isn't church about attracting people and not running them off? Since when does a church that benefits from tax exempt status, get to have any private property since it's the taxpayers who are helping to publically fund these establishments? It's high time that land taxes and revenue taxes be levied if the church is going to be run like a police state with publically funded taxpayer money!
July 12th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I, too, wonder why special tax breaks are given to religious organisations that don't do any particular good for society. But of course, taking that special perk away would be PERSECTION!!!! And prompt a flurry of CAPITAL LETTERD AND MISPELED abuse from Christians.
July 12th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Funny you should mention that. According to the Salt Lake Tribune (yes, I am bored) there was to be a mass "kiss-in" this morning in support of the couple.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:42 am
1.Derek Says:
July 11th, 2009 at 9:03 am
How funny that these guys try to claim that they were victims. I witnessed the whole thing. First of all, these two gentlemen did much more then hold hands and kiss, they were completely all over each other. Second of all they were given ample opportunities to leave, these security guards told them politely they could stay on this easement as long as they weren’t all over each other. The two men turned things around quickly, they were drunk and completely obnoxious and rude to the security guards, cussing at them and calling them all sorts of names. That’s when they arrested them for trespassing not kissing. Funny how these two “victims” claim to be victimized, when in reality they were just picking a fight, and wanted some attention which they got.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:39 am
The LDS church donates millions a year in clothing and food not to mention volunteering time to the worlds poor and afflicted by natural disaster.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:00 am
And let's not forget the millions they spent opposing gay marriage in California.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Individual Mormons spent that money, not the Mormon church as an institution. That distinction may or may not be very important, but your obfuscation of it is somewhat disingenuous.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:56 am
It is well known that the morman church has sent aid around the world. Its also well known how many so called public services they have done. But it wasn’t long ago that they didn’t allow blacks in the church nor do see women as more than evil force yet to be tamed by the magic preasthood. They teach sexism racism hatred and pretty much all things un christ like so why’s all us surprised how anti gay they are. If your worried about the sanctity of marriage try tell the many preteen girls forced to marry pedifiles and treated like live stock by brother brigam and his disgusting rape of children and being gay is an abomination please.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Thank you for speaking up on what you saw. There are always two sides to a story and I'm glad that you are willing to tell about another angle.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Please don't be disrespectful. I'm sure you're better than that.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:33 am
Tax payers dont fund LDS, property members due by paying tything. Theres a diffrence between tax breaks and tax funded
July 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
They were not just kissing, they were groping, and using explicit language!!! Any couple would have been stopped for that! To act like they were not doing anything wrong is ignorant on this gay couples part!!!! They just want their 15 min of fame! I'm so sick of LIARS!!
July 21st, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Davon,
Judging by the very uncharitable and rough treatment accorded Aune and his partner Jones by the church guards and by the lack of apology toward them by the Mormon church, one would never have suspected the full range of donation of food, clothing and time by the church. The unkindness and severity of the Mormons toward thousands of same-sex couples obscures whatever charity the church performs.
My church is both gay-friendly and charitable in its activities in feeding the needy. Charity without love toward all diversity of people renders the spirt of the charity moot although granted some people are kept from starving in the process and although all charitable giving of food, time and clothing is needed. I am a liberal gay Christian, and I stand up for my community.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Andi,
Whatever the couple did, did it justify being thrown to the ground, treated roughly and manacled?
July 21st, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Zombiehunter,
I don't agree. While I agree on one hand that people gay and straight should be able to walk through holding hands or giving each a nice little peck on the cheek, on the other hand bedroom behavior like getting it on or being all over each other or having a loud, noisy concert is tasteless, unnecessary, and destructive of the peace and serenity of the plaza. I think people should be mature and respectful of others and act like in a refined manner. Gays and straights calmly walking thorough holding hands and having a quick peck on the cheek would be sufficiently refined and respectful of others and at the same time allow for some public display of affection without being obnoxious.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
Crap the elders of the morman church spoke out supporting it and asked members to donate.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:22 am
I am a mormon and gay, i am no longer a member of the church, i was treated like a criminal, i was callede sick and evil by the elders.
That is why i left home and the church i do not speak to my family and i am so much happier.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
If anyone wants to know how bad the LDS Church is, I’ll give you an example. My wife bought a house that happened to belong to a relative. This relative happens to be LDS. We have recieved some of this relative’s mail. ONe of these pieces of mail was the local Ward’s (church, chapter, what ever you want to call it)newsletter. In this newletter there is a section dedicated to “resident” missionaries and their work. This section mentions an “Investigator”. This is a relatively new term that is used to refer to someone that is being contacted by the missionaries and is considering conversion to the church. This “investigator” apparently had some material that was critical of the church in some way and the newsletter mentioned “it was conviscated”. This is a direct quote. Yup, that about sums it up. Make up your own mind, think logically and rationally, be critical and skeptical of all you hear and see. Objectivity is a beautiful state of mind. It’s not that difficult.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Who cares? These two asked for it, kissing on some church property. Go over to main street and kiss all you want. I’m not homophobic but this overly procative attitude is really annoying
January 8th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
I am on both sides for this case. 1st of all the gay couple was being innapropriate but being thrown on the ground?! Both the gaurds and the couple are at fault. I am technically a mormon I was raised in a mormon houshold and I am APPAULED the way they treat gays, that got me to go sin(in other words drink coffee and lookup the negative side of church) and I found that brigham young was a murderer and rapist… He did create a speech to end slavery but his speech throws in the n word all the time he also talks about how bad he thinks black people are yet they shouldn’t be slaves… Nothing is black and white people look at both sides
I rest my case…