Kissing as Assault
There have been two recent news articles in print media that have instigated me to write this commentary, both involving kissing ending in charges of simple assault and indecent behavior. The first incident took place in Raleigh, North Carolina during their gay pride parade this past June. Apparently, there was an anti-gay Bible waving preacher who felt the need to attend to shout things like ‘sodomites' and ‘you're going to hell’ to the celebrating participants. A 74 year old female gay rights supporter who was subjected to hearing the insults claimed she felt he needed a hug, approached him and kissed him on the cheek. He claims the kiss was planted on his lips. Long and ugly story short, he summoned the police and the woman was charged with simple assault. The second incident took place in Kenner, Louisiana and is much more controversial because it involves a 61 year old Hispanic man who lifted up a 9 year old boy at a picnic area this past weekend and kissed him on his ear and told the child, “Oh, I love you.” The child told his parents and the man was charged with indecent behavior. Now, first, let me start by saying emphatically how sickened I am by any form of abuse especially directed toward children. The report said the man smelled of alcohol and there certainly is the possibility that he was up to no good, but it also could be true that he was just a bit too spirited and wanted to express innocent affection. I see children I’d love to hug all the time in the park. The first thing I thought to myself was if this had been a woman who kissed the boy, it wouldn’t have become an incident and would probably have been considered a sweet and kind gesture. The whole thing smacks of paranoia, sexism and homophobia. These stories occurred at the same time the state of New York passed a bill allowing homosexuals to legally marry. I am proud and frankly amazed at how quickly the human rights movement is progressing. At the same time, stories like these remind me of just how much fear and bigotry are still prevalent across much of this country. It saddens me that something as simple as a kiss can be considered a criminal assault.
There have been two recent news articles in print media that have instigated me to write this commentary, both involving kissing ending in charges of simple assault and indecent behavior. The first incident took place in Raleigh, North Carolina during their gay pride parade this past June. Apparently, there was an anti-gay Bible waving preacher who felt the need to attend to shout things like ‘sodomites' and ‘you're going to hell’ to the celebrating participants. A 74 year old female gay rights supporter who was subjected to hearing the insults claimed she felt he needed a hug, approached him and kissed him on the cheek. He claims the kiss was planted on his lips. Long and ugly story short, he summoned the police and the woman was charged with simple assault. The second incident took place in Kenner, Louisiana and is much more controversial because it involves a 61 year old Hispanic man who lifted up a 9 year old boy at a picnic area this past weekend and kissed him on his ear and told the child, “Oh, I love you.” The child told his parents and the man was charged with indecent behavior. Now, first, let me start by saying emphatically how sickened I am by any form of abuse especially directed toward children. The report said the man smelled of alcohol and there certainly is the possibility that he was up to no good, but it also could be true that he was just a bit too spirited and wanted to express innocent affection. I see children I’d love to hug all the time in the park. The first thing I thought to myself was if this had been a woman who kissed the boy, it wouldn’t have become an incident and would probably have been considered a sweet and kind gesture. The whole thing smacks of paranoia, sexism and homophobia. These stories occurred at the same time the state of New York passed a bill allowing homosexuals to legally marry. I am proud and frankly amazed at how quickly the human rights movement is progressing. At the same time, stories like these remind me of just how much fear and bigotry are still prevalent across much of this country. It saddens me that something as simple as a kiss can be considered a criminal assault.
