Waterloo queers are set to rally against homophobia and hate, following an incident at Cafe 1842 on March 29, when two lesbians were asked to stop kissing.

The queer community has organized a kiss-in, rally and dance for Saturday, April 10. 

Details from the Facebook Event: 

Start time: 2:00pm
Date: Saturday, April 10
Location: Waterloo Public Town Square

Administrators of the Facebook Page, Taking Action Against Homophobia in Waterloo Region, have released a statement of purpose:

Homophobia isn't particular to just one location or any single person or group. Homophobia is a frequent problem from being cat-called from cars, to being threatened, to having inappropriate questions being asked about sexuality, to being overtly discriminated against when our identities aren't invisible. We want an accessible, safe, and hate-free community.

This is an issue that has brought to the forefront several victims and arguing any single case does not hold water when compared to the avalanche of stories that have been shared openly in this page and privately with the administrators thereof. As stated before, even though the focus in the group has been about a single instance, the greater intention of the group and the actions being planned are not to target a specific incident or individual but instead the greater problem at hand. The focus has been on one incident as a rally point, but it is not the intention of the group who started this page to use that as a target. The kiss-in will be focused on King Street in Waterloo with the message of bringing communities together to create a greater sense of safety and openness.

Read more:

• Waterloo lesbians kicked out of cafe for kissing 

Two women were kicked out of Waterloo's Café 1842 at the Huether Hotel on March 29. Why? They exchanged a kiss. 

A note posted on Facebook explains how university student Jenny Kirby and her girlfriend were asked to leave:

"Tonight, as we were getting ready to leave, my girlfriend and I exchanged a short kiss (no tongues I swear!) and we heard her [the café owner] exclaim "What's going on here!" and walk over to us and angrily say, "Stop that. That's enough. This is not the place for that."

"She was so loud that the whole café stopped and stared. One man was wearing a bathrobe (no pants) and actually said, "So it's ok for me to wear a bathrobe?" Of course, she had no response and quickly disappeared, but she made it clear that we (dirty lesbians) were not welcome. In the past, I have been in there with ex boyfriends and we have engaged in much more physical activity than just an innocent kiss, so I know that this is not just about people in her café kissing. It's a "gay" problem..." 

Wilfrid Laurier University's TheCord.ca spoke to the owner:

Owner of Huether Hotel Sonia Adlys saw the situation a little differently.

"I'm walking up to the café, standing beside the dessert fridge, and I see two young girls necking. I was hoping it would stop, but it didn't," said Adlys.

"We have senior people, families, we're a family restaurant. I walked up to them, yes I was maybe a little bit loud, and I said "excuse me, can you please leave?

"Whether it had been two males, a male and a female or two females, I don't want to look at that. It makes me uncomfortable," said Adlys.

"I don't care who she was with, it's not appropriate in a family restaurant." (read more at TheCord.ca)

Gay kissing! In public! Think of the seniors! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!  

In protest, more than 900 people have joined a Facebook page since it was created on Tuesday: Taking Action Against Homophobia in Waterloo Region. There are rumblings of a boycott or kiss-in.

My two cents: go with a kiss-in, rather than a boycott. One of the first stories I covered for Xtra was a similar incident in Ottawa in 2007, when two men were asked to stop kissing at a restaurant. Ottawa queers organized a kiss-in at the restaurant, and a day later, the gay couple received an apology from the owner. Watch the guys talk about what happened, and read more about the 2007 Ottawa kiss-in:

(As an aside... that Ottawa restaurant closed not long after.)