Gay group stages 'kiss-in' in Ft. Worth

October 18, 2009 - 0 comments

Fort Worth, Oct. 18 -- A Fort Worth, Texas, "kiss-in" organized by a gay action group met with opposing, mostly-evangelical, counter-demonstrators, organizers said.

The two groups Saturday engaged in more shouting through bullhorns than kissing, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday.

"This is the most homophobic place that I've ever lived in. I'm concerned about my safety in the Stockyards and in the rest of Fort Worth. The constant drumbeat of the religious right telling us that we're sinners and deserve to go to hell is more than I can stomach," Joe Remsik, 37, the leader of the Fort Worth chapter of Queer Liberation, said.

Remsik said the purpose of the kiss-in by an estimated 40 participants was to alert the public to fear in the city's gay community, particularly in the Stockyard area, which he said is a traditionally homophobic neighborhood.

The counter-protesters, who also numbered about 40, were mostly Christians who said homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, not an innate sexual orientation. They asked members of the gay group to give up the kiss-in.

The demonstrations ended peacefully, the newspaper said.