http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/10/gay-couple-vs-lds-church-security-guards-at-salt-lake-citys-temple-square Comments On: Gay Couple Vs. LDS Church Security Guards At Salt Lake City's Temple Square by David Schmader en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
There is no easement on the property. There used to be, until the city sold the easement to the LDS church. The church has given a "guarantee of public access," but they retain the right to expel anyone for any reason. (They acquired the property in a land swap with the city; the issue was challenged in court by the ACLU, and the ACLU lost.) Technically, they were within their legal rights to require the men to leave. However, the security guards (not police) cuffed and detained the two men until the police actually arrived. This could be a big problem. Also, given the wording of Utah's trespassing laws, it might be difficult to get that charge to stick.

Rent-a-cops are bad enough usually, but these were homophobic, prick Rent-a-cops. I am a Mormon myself and find this whole affair thoroughly disgusting. I think most of my fellow religionists are nice folks, but clearly there are some bastards in there too. Even from a strictly self-interested PR perspective, they couldn't have handled this in a worse way. Church spokesperson Kim Farah's recent remarks have only dug the whole deeper.

And, 24, the Brüno idea? GENIUS!
Posted by nsjordan]]> Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:10:40 -0700 The Stranger
Why couldn't Bruno have done his US premiere in SLC? Forget hollywood, that would have been hot publicity. I'd love to have seen him strut his stuff down the secret mormon alley thing.
Posted by SecretBYUBottomBoy]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:38:17 -0700 The Stranger
We are engaged in shining a light on their hateful ways and would love the assistance of anyone here.

Dan? Are you listening? We are going to flip this place, the first domino to fall in the Central Valley...

My blog is portervillenerd.com, you can all contact me there.

Here are some news stories documenting Prop 8 disaster here in town, there are more available from Fresno TV stations (no links right now, headed out to dinner, I will dig them up later), Visalia newspapers, and we have a reporter from LA doing a long piece. We need more of your help!

I don't know this guy, but hey, feel free to contact him :)
anti-pro 8 story in recorder: http://www.recorderonline.com/opinion/ma…

that last one prompted this from Owens:
http://www.recorderonline.com/opinion/co…

and this from some other guy never seen since: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/m…

and later, this showed up: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/c… from some random dude

here is the story that broke the news of the resolution: http://www.recorderonline.com/news/porte…

then some dude who still thinks the world as he sees it is a giant communist plot: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/m…

and that guy's wife (they deserve each other but their kids and other family sure don't): http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/f…

no comment :)
Council Hears an Earful: http://www.recorderonline.com/news/counc…

shocked us: Recorder editorial: vote no on 8! : http://www.recorderonline.com/opinion/pr…

finally found the piece from dennis townsend I was looking for (but there is a whole history that seems lost for now). Read it and laugh or weep since his side has won so far: http://www.recorderonline.com/opinion/pr…

don't know this guy but good on him: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/d…

this couple doesn't know that our laws are secular and are apparently proud of it: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/d…

church leader speaks out in support of know-nothing hate. You ought to talk to this guy: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/l…

evidence that what is being taught in churches is that how you vote now affects your prospects for a favorable afterlife later: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/p…

in the heat of the moment, a kid was probably put up to this. might be interesting to find this kid and ask about what marriage means. hate form the mouth of babes makes fantastic video: http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/t…

was the ballot confusing after all that? election day at last: http://www.recorderonline.com/news/polli…

Intermediate prop 8 vote counting: http://www.recorderonline.com/news/perce…

post-election recorder editorial, disappointing - your side lost, too bad, move on, get over it, wasn't that important anyway: http://www.recorderonline.com/opinion/ra…


Posted by PortervilleNerd]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:43:00 -0700 The Stranger
Posted by tornadoZ]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:17:13 -0700 The Stranger Posted by duly noted]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:26:19 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Carollani]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:00:37 -0700 The Stranger So right now, it does seem like a bunch of people are just whining on the internet and are too lazy to really try to change things.
Anyone wanna set up a kissing protest? I'll help you organize it, just let me know.

protestforhumanrights.com
Posted by Enigma]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:57:53 -0700 The Stranger
I'm complaining that it stops there. At a mention.

Does ANYONE organize for the gay community?
If this is to be considered a civil rights issue, why is there no use of established civil rights protest methods?

People shit on public figures like Al Sharpton, but at least that man can mobilize people.

It is that very lack of pro-active solidarity in the gay-rights community that allowed Prop 8 to pass.
The protests after the fact? The mad accusations and scapegoating? We all saw how that turned out.

"Activism" has largely been restricted to emails, on-line communities, phone-calls, etc... things that nobody has to leave their computer for.

Am I simply reading the wrong blog?

Posted by Ackham]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:52:47 -0700 The Stranger Posted by RGW]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:41:22 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Electra]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:41:02 -0700 The Stranger Because it seems sometimes Disneyland ain't got nothin' on the Mormons when it comes to levels of gayness.
Posted by pissy mcslogbot]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:35:47 -0700 The Stranger Posted by slaggy]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:03 -0700 The Stranger The couple was actually walking through Main Street Plaza east of Temple Square. The Plaza, which the Mormon Church refers to as "a little bit of Paris in Salt Lake City," used to be a public street with sidewalks. The Mormons bought it and closed it to traffic in the 1990s, but an easement remains on the property to ensure public access. That makes the "private property" argument a lot more complicated.
Posted by Tom in SLC]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:24:00 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Brandon J.]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:23:07 -0700 The Stranger
Encounters like this force them into the public spotlight, and as such, they are a good thing. Hope we see more makeout sessions, gay and straight, on the square.
Posted by seandr]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:21:48 -0700 The Stranger
Its the same reason I cannot shot a person running of with my stereo or torture kids who trespass.

Calling the police to remove the trespassers without assaulting them would have been the correct action.
Posted by giffy]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:18:40 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Collin]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:18:23 -0700 The Stranger Posted by kim in portland]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:17:36 -0700 The Stranger Posted by get off my lawn]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:09:27 -0700 The Stranger Posted by playswithknives]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:08:26 -0700 The Stranger Posted by David Schmader]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:02:01 -0700 The Stranger Posted by David Schmader]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:59:45 -0700 The Stranger
There is a bit of gap in his telling of the story in between their being told to stop and their being forcably detained. If, in that gap, they were told that their either need to stop or leave immediately, and they refued, then the guards were well within their rights to detain them. Given that the guards were happy to call the cops, and were taking picutres to document their actions, I strong suspect they had given them the opportunity to desist or leave. If not, they need to be prosecuted for unlawful detention. But if so, there is no law against being authoritarian, homophobic assholes on your own property, nor should there be.
Posted by David Wright]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:57:15 -0700 The Stranger
Wait, no... that's not the right word.

Predictable! Yes, I find this predictable.

Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:51:51 -0700 The Stranger
Don't be snobs about it. Invite heterosexual friends to show solidarity.

Unless organizing something like that is too much work.

Then just whine about it in the blogosphere. Have a big collective gripe-fest about Mormons.

Posted by Ackham]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:45:13 -0700 The Stranger