Here’s the question we asked UFI readers:
“Should an airline or any business have a policy regarding very overt public displays of affection?
Here’s how readers responded:
95 Percent “Yes, if it is enforced equally”
3 Percent “No, allow societal norms to rule”
2 Percent “No, there’s nothing you can do about it”
We came to ask this question because of the highly publicized incident on Southwest Airlines, where a female homosexual couple were asked to refrain from kissing. The incident escalated when the couple became verbally aggressive with the flight staff. Now we have a second similar incident, this time with a female homosexual couple at a Four Seasons hotel in St. Louis. When the couple was asked to refrain from kissing, they continued and eventually were asked to leave by the hotel security.
Both couples insist it was the fact that they were not heterosexual couples and that the treatment amounted to discrimination. Both businesses insist that the incidents had nothing to do with “gender.”
Our readers overwhelming think that these organizations should have a set policy and then make sure it is equally enforced. We recognize that it would be difficult to do, but appears to be the best – and probably the only – way to protect all parties involved. The other option – doing nothing – doesn’t seem to be working very well.