El Paso is for lovers, unless you're gay - 2009-07-10
Even with all the progress we've made, it's sometimes shocking and disheartening how far we have to go.
In Texas, two gay men were thrown out of a restaurant for kissing. Straight couples kiss in restaurants all the time, and people either don't notice or think it's cute or charming.
Unfortunately for the men and their three friends, All American International Security guards on duty at the restaurant did not find it charming. The guards told all five men to leave the restaurant, and harassed them with hateful slurs while the men waited for the police to arrive to clear up the problem.
They were smart to call the police, since the El Paso City Council approved an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation by businesses which serve the general public. So it's pretty straightforward -- they call the cops, the cops enforce the city ordinance, the security guards look like jerks and that's the end. Right?
Not quite. When the police arrived, they told the couple and their friends that they could be cited for "homosexual conduct" -- a law that was determined to be unconstitutional in 2003.
This kind of hateful intolerance for fellow human beings -- not to mention flagrant disregard for the law -- is absolutely unacceptable. We cannot let this slip by unnoticed. If we don't demand higher standards from law enforcement and this private security company, this behavior will persist.
You can send an email to CEO of All American International Security here, asking them to fire the guards involved in this incident. You can email the Mayor of El Paso here, asking him to conduct a full investigation into the El Paso Police Department's disregard for city ordinances designed to prevent discrimination.
