What started as several couples grew to approximately 75 people showing “gentle” affection for one another this weekend in an organized “kiss-in” near the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The demonstration came in response to the arrest of Derek Jones and Matthew Aune, a gay couple who was charged with trespassing after Aune gaves Jones a hug and kiss as they passed by the temple. The two men were asked to stop their “inappropriate behavior.” When they contested and refused to leave the property, they were handcuffed and detained.They have been banned from LDS headquarters for six months. The arrest of Jones and Aune happened within a week of a separate but similar event in El Paso, Texas, where five gay men were ejected from the restaurant Chico’s Tacos after two of them kissed on the lips.

Numerous couples at Salt Lake City’s kiss-in displayed modest affection (mostly kisses and hand-holding). Some wore paper hearts clipped to shirt sleeves or fastened over their hearts. The LDS church maintains that this is not an issue of discrimination and that the arrest was standard protocol for any couple who engages in the same conduct. Organizers of the protest say the demonstration is intended to show that all couples ought to be able to show affection.

This kiss-in was not the first of its kind. In Paris, just one week ago, two French men invited other gay couples to partake in an event they called “Kiss Wherever You Like.”  Having found it difficult to express affection in public, even holding hands, the men initiated “Kiss Wherever You Like” to show how normal public kissing between same sex couples can be.  “We’re doing this for fun, not provocation. We want to encourage people by showing them you can,” one of the men said.  Acknowledging that one afternoon is not enough, they still considered it a success. “…[I]t’s a good beginning,” said his partner, “and we’re not going to stop here.”

Gay kissing also made its first debut in the mainstream comic world last week in the 45th issue of X-Factor when characters Rictor and Shatterstar locked lips. The mini-series Watchmen had openly gay characters in 1986, but until now mainstream comics have largely left it to niche comic books to represent gay characters. Peter David, who wrote the Rictor and Shatterstar title, won the GLADD award (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in 1999 for his work on for his work on Supergirl and Madrox, both of which involve gay and bisexual issues. On his blog, David expresses frustration with the response he’s gotten from his readership, a small percentage of which expressed discontent with the depiction of gay kissing:

The thing that really fractures me is those people who claim that I did the storyline in order to piss off Rob [Liefeld]…an assertion that no one made until after Rob declared that he couldn’t wait to try and undo it. Because the absolute worst thing that you can do is associate someone’s character with gayness, I guess.

In another sphere of media, gay blogging is getting a boost. According to personaldemocracy.com, energy drink company Rockstar has committed to donating $100,000 to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans (GLBT) causes, $12,500 of which will be allotted to the National LGBT Blogger & Citizen Journalist Initiative.  The initiative began in December 2008 with 50 bloggers and representatives of gay rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, who are sponsoring the blog.