Angry shoppers are taking a stand after a UK supermarket told a lesbian couple to stop kissing on Coming Out Day.
In response, they will be holding a mass kiss-in in the very same
branch of Sainsbury's where a chaste kiss was branded 'inappropriate' by a
security guard.
Annabelle Paige, a 22-year-old student at the University of Sussex,
said she gave her girlfriend a light kiss and then a security guard came over
to say they could either stop showing signs of affection or be thrown out.
The Brighton branch store denies the couple were asked to leave.
'I’m so shocked and upset about it. I get that if another customer
is uncomfortable that’s a bad thing ... but the problem is the other customer
was in the wrong and essentially being homophobic,' Paige told The Times.
'The guard didn’t seem to understand that, I was absolutely humiliated.'
Sainsbury's apologized to Paige, donating a reported £100 ($160,
€125) to a charity of her choice.
But for the organizers of the kiss-in, the University of Sussex
Students’ Union, this is not enough to show the supermarket is battling
homophobia.
They are calling on Sainsbury's to make mandatory training to all
staff on equality and diversity issues, make a substantial donation to a
charity that works to end homophobia and issue a public apology.
'The "Big Kiss In" tomorrow is open to everyone, regardless
of your sexuality, to highlight that whomever you wish to kiss, it is to be
celebrated,' they say.
The kiss-in will be held in Sainsbury’s on New England Street
Brighton on 15 October from 6pm.
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