...that's just what happened recently in Raleigh at the Cameron Village shopping center to a couple of women who were being affectionate with each other when a guard happened by.
As a columnist who writes a national column about gay manners, I often get questions from both LGBT and straight readers about what's kind of PDA (public display of affection) is appropriate for same-sex couples. Usually, when gay people ask about this, it's because they want to be comfortable in public without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. More often than not when straight folks ask me the question, it's because they think a particular pair of gay men or lesbians has strayed past the line of propriety.
The truth is that the rules about showing affection publicly are the same for gay men and lesbians as they are for straight people. Generally, hand-holding, eye gazing and light kissing are perfectly fine in public; groping, tongue kissing and touching below the waist are not. If there are any distinctions to be made, they're not based on sexual orientation, but rather on location. If you're in, say, a nightclub, bar or movie theater, the PDA rules are more relaxed than if you're in a church, at a family dinner or spending an afternoon at the mall.
Which is to say: The Cameron Village duo was behaving quite appropriately by any measure of the situation.
But the next chapter in the Cameron Village incident is also key: Management at the mall was quick to apologize, if only because of the tremendous Facebook outcry, which was obviously bad for business. In the apology, also on Facebook, the PR team insisted that its mall is a "friendly shopping center that welcomes the entire community," concluding with this statement: "[We're] committed to maintaining an open and welcoming environment for everyone."