Gay Tourists Reprimanded For Kiss On Cheek In Guadalajara Hotel, File Discrimination Complaint

Two gay men are filing a discrimination complaint with the Mexican government after being reprimanded at a Guadalajara Hotel for a kiss on the cheek, news site Animal Político reports.

The two tourists from Mexico City say a manager at the Hotel del Parque told them to refrain from displaying affection to avoid disturbing the family environment.

“This isn’t right,” José Luis Rodríguez, one of the men who will file a complaint with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, said in a radio interview, according to Animal Político. “I understand the context of Guadalajara, but at the same time, this is the year 2013.”

Jorge Fong, a manager of the hotel contacted by Animal Político, said: “we serve people of all types. This is a hotel and, logically, there are out of the ordinary behaviors and normal behaviors, of heterosexuals, of homosexuals, whoever. I haven’t given instructions to impede acts of affection, except when it concerns an affront to normal morals, which can involve any kind of person, independent of their sexual orientation.”

Fong didn’t say he thought a kiss on the cheek would count as such an affront in his estimation. He said he was investigating the issue with this staff.

Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage and guaranteed gay and lesbian couples’ right to adopt children in 2009. The Supreme Court ruled the following year that all of Mexico’s 31 states must recognize marriages performed in the capital.

The Federal District’s progressive stance has clashed with its neighbors in more traditional states, where the Catholic Church holds more sway.