Second ‘kiss-in’ on Mormon church plaza in Utah draws shouting, but no arrests

Second ‘kiss-in’ on Mormon plaza draws shouting

SALT LAKE CITY — A mass-kissing protest near the Mormon church temple drew a shouting match between gay activists and a group of faithful Mormons.

About 100 people gathered Sunday for the second consecutive weekend to stage a “kiss-in” to protest the treatment of two gay men cited for trespassing July 9 after they shared a kiss on the plaza owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Demonstrators were greeted at the south entrance by a group of faithful Mormons carrying large signs that denounced homosexuality, prompting a heated verbal exchange.

Police say no one was arrested or cited, despite a large group exchanging kisses by a reflecting pool at the plaza’s center.

The church bought one block of Salt Lake City’s Main Street to build the plaza in the 1990s.