Previously arrested couple repeat kiss on cathedral steps

A young couple  kissing  on the steps of the cathedral in Panama on Sunday May 28 were surrounded by friends chanting “my body is  mine,  and doesn't belong to the church of  or the state." 

It may be a call that could create a new openness in Panamanian society  or produce a backlash in a country that lags behind others like Argentina and Mexico in attitudes to gay unions. The division of opinion is still a big one and, according to those who spoke on Sunday, coming out of the closet is not an option for many. {jathumbnail off}

The couple exchanging repeated passionate kisses as cameras clicked and gay liberation  flags waved, were responding to police action when they kissed on a street in Casco Viejo in March, and ended up under arrest.

On Sunday, the couple Valentina and Johanna,  were the centre piece of a  festival  of hugs and kisses, their reaction to an event on March 27 when they were waiting for friends on  Fourth Street in Casco Viejo. When they embraced and kissed two agents of the Institutional Protection System (IPS) approached.

As reported by the girls the police said they couldn’t be kissing in public and tried to put them   in an unmarked 4×4 with smoked glass. When they refused, two female police officers were called,  and they were taken to a substation in Chorrillo, where they were locked in an office   and strip searched. They appeared before a night court judge who they allege, told them: “If you come  again for the same cause,  I'll give you a real fine!" A group of  members of the gay community organized the protest event to identify with a statement of the couple, as reported in La Estrella: "We respect people's beliefs. But we must learn that churches are not political power. Laws are for everyone, not just the majority. Panama is a secular state, what about minorities? Do we have to be governed  by the rules of Christianity? Why?”
They  told  La Estrella that in Panama: “People are very much in the closet. Many people who have relationships with people their own sex, publicly make fun gay people. There is  a lot of discrimination against people who identify themselves as bisexual, against women appear  more  masculine, and  men who appear  effeminate. We need to do a job for everyone to feel happy with what they are.

“It's complicated because what is said in  Panama, including by activists, is that people are not prepared. They're waiting until the Tooth Fairy comes to prepare society.”
They saw the event  as doing   a bit   to  change reactions to people who have relationships with others of the same gender. They wished that all the people would  “come out  of the closet tomorrow and live their lives freely. They will find that  after all they are not world has  not fallen apart, there will be  no killing, or burning at the stake. They will just be   happier.”

But while they and supporting activists stood on the steps of the Cathedral, other members of the gay community continued to lounge on a balcony overhanging the square, ignoring the gestures of those below to join the public demonstration.

In front of the cathedral tourists and others wandered through the laden stalls of the Sunday flea market, unaware of the scene being acted out a few meters away  and a covey of motor bikers, some masked, charged by giving full throttle to their engines.

A passing police car stopped for a few minutes, and went on its way. There were no arrests for noise, or kissing.