The same mall that couldn't handle a flash mob or a rowdy Black Friday, couldn't handle a little PDA of the same-sex variety apparently. Daniel Chesmore, a student at U.C. Berkeley, and Jose Guzman, a Cal alumnus, are both tutors at an elementary school in Oakland. They were allegedly thrown out of the Westfield Galleria in Roseville, California on Saturday after a security guard told them their smooching and hand-holding was inappropriate because there were children around.
"If you continue to kiss, you will be asked to leave the mall. Period," the security guard can be heard saying on a recording the two men started after the security guard confronted them. "I counted you guys kissing 25 times. I told you before, we contact any couple [...] about this."
In a hard-hitting, undercover investigation, however, the (probably bored) team at Sacramento's Fox 40 News recorded dozens of straight couples holding hands and sucking face completely unmolested by mall security. The mall's general manager declined to comment on the matter, but wrote in a statement that mall policy stipulates: "Persons that violate the Code of Conduct are asked to leave the property." Fox 40 news failed to find any mention of PDA in the mall's posted Code of Conduct. They do, however, have a new app for smartphones which includes a handy map of every Westfield center, in case you can't find the exit fast enough.
After the report hit the local news yesterday, homegrown gay rights activists took to the Galleria at Roseville's Facebook page to express their outrage over the matter. While some potential customers threatened to never shop at another Westfield Mall again, others suggested the brightly colored bags at Aeropostale and shoes at Sketchers were too gay for the mall. Another creative commenter proposed the idea of having a troupe of drag queens show up to a bra fitting event.
Previously: When Flash Mobs Go Wrong: Choral Mob in Roseville Almost Breaks Mall, Video: Black Friday Brawl Erupts At Suburban Sacramento Shopping Mall
[Fox40]
