After gay couple is reprimanded, Kiss-A-Thon is held at Six Flags Mexico

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A kiss-a-thon was staged at Six Flags Mexico a day after a queer couple was reprimanded by officials for kissing at the park on December 29.

On Twitter, a friend of the couple posted about the incident in a now-viral tweet with almost 20,000 retweets and 45,000 likes.

The friend wrote, “The argument was that the park is a ‘family environment’ and that gay kisses are an attack on that.”

He went on to share videos of the incident on Twitter, which reportedly showed the Six Flags Mexico director confronting the couple about the kiss.

“He told us that in general all displays of affection were prohibited and that it was in the regulations, we reviewed the regulations with him and that paragraph does not appear… They also pointed us out, took us out of line, and threatened to take us out of the park for not complying with the ‘family environment’ rule,” the friend wrote.

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He added: “At least 10 couples in the same area were kissing but they were not singled out or intimidated.”

The friend later tweeted that the incident was “clearly homophobic.”

On December 30, a besotón or kiss-a-thon was scheduled outside the park.

Dozens gathered for the kiss-a-thon, with some carrying rainbow flags.

After the backlash on Twitter, Six Flags Mexico posted a statement. It said, “In an effort to maintain a family atmosphere, Six Flags had a policy that discourages visitors from being overly affectionate while visiting the park. This policy applies equally to all visitors, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. However, based on feedback from our visitors, we have determined that there is no need to have a policy that addresses affectionate behavior and we have removed it.”

In another statement after the kiss-a-thon, Six Flags Mexico said the whole situation was a “misunderstanding.”

“We stand in solidarity with our guests, partners, colleagues, and collaborators who are members of the LGBT+ community. Six Flags is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment and does not tolerate racism, discrimination, or hateful behavior in any way towards anyone. Our goal is to provide a safe and fun experience for everyone,” the park said in the second statement. “To show our commitment, tomorrow we will meet with a commission of the LGBT+ community together with the authorities of Mexico City and we will work to move forward.”

Makeup artist Matt Bernstein called out the company for saying it discouraged “being overly affectionate” at the park, but previously advertising (straight) couples kissing.

“There was never a policy that states you can’t kiss at six flags. Y’all made that up to do damage control after kicking out a gay couple because they made you uncomfortable,” Bernstein wrote.

In response to Six Flags’ statements, Alex Orué, director of It Gets Better Mexico, wrote on Twitter, “Homophobia is not a ‘misunderstanding’. To overcome what happened, and repair not only what happened this week but everything that has been dragging on for years…will require transparent and tangible actions in favor of the LGBT+ community.”

Source: El Pais

The Mexico City Post

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