ROSEVILLE, Calif. — A gay couple in California said they were kicked out of a local shopping mall because they kissed each other and held hands in public.
(via KXTL-TV)
Daniel Chesmore, 21, and Jose Guzman, 24, said they were confronted by a security guard at the Westfield Galleria in Roseville, Calif., on Saturday and asked to leave after the couple exchanged a kiss, reported KTXL-TV.
“I kissed him on the cheek. That’s how my boyfriend and I show affection,” said Chesmore.
The couple recorded the security guard, who told them, “If you continue to kiss, you will be asked to leave the mall. Period,” the voice on the recording said. “I told you before, we contact any couple, any couple […] about this.”
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But in a follow-up investigation, KTXL-TV said it spotted dozens of straight couples sitting inside of the Galleria, holding hands and kissing in public, and as hours passed, not one couple was asked to leave the mall.
Watch:
“In a perfect world, there would be no difference in treatment between straight couples and gay couples,” Chesmore said.
Eddie Ollmann, general manager of the mall, would not comment on comera, but later released a statement that “persons that violate the Code of Conduct are asked to leave the property.”
KTXL-TV said it found nothing in the mall’s code of conduct about public displays of affection.
