Crowd Chants 'Shame' At Women Who Told Gay Couple To Stop Kissing In Pool

Updated September 6, 2021

With each passing Pride month comes an opportunity to reflect on the hard-fought and ongoing battle for LGBTQ+ rights that continues to unfold throughout the world.

And while Pride is often dotted with celebratory affairs embracing the millions of people worldwide seeking to love who they truly love and be who they truly are, it's worth remembering that the first Pride event was held to protest a police raid on the LGBTQ+-friendly Stonewall Inn in 1969.

And while we've seen some encouraging progress in widespread legal and cultural acceptance since those tumultuous days, it would remain premature to call the fight against homophobia over.

And from the perspective of two women who were enjoying each other's company in Sacramento, a recent incident caught on video served as an unfortunate reminder of that fact.

Be advised that the full video contains explicit language.

On May 30, 34-year-old Domonique Veasley was staying with a female friend at Sacramento's Kimpton Sawyer hotel.

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As she told ABC 10, the pair had gone into the pool to cool off and while they were there, they started kissing.

It's worth noting that according to witness Georgy Avakov's statements to CBS13, there were at least a dozen heterosexual couples in the pool and around the bar area who happened to be showing the same level of affection at the time.

Veasley also observed this, which meant she saw reason to be suspicious when only she and her friend were approached by a group apparently led by two women.

Twitter | @DLamontJenkins

As Veasley told ABC10, "Maybe six seconds into it, I get this little tap, 'excuse me' and I look up and this lady's head is right there. She’s like, 'I have kids in the pool.' I’ve been in education for the past 13 years so the initial reaction was 'oh yea,' and then it kind of came to me what she was asking me to do."

Likely as a result of a complaint from this group, a security officer then asked Veasley to get out of the pool and discuss the situation.

As Veasley said, "It would’ve been a beautiful moment for her to teach about love to her kids but instead she decided to sexualize two women."

Twitter | @DLamontJenkins

Following a second exchange between the two parties, it became clear that the situation wasn't sitting well with Avakov and other bystanders, who started chanting "shame" at the group.

As one of them named Arthur Kaligos told ABC10, it was at this point that he began filming the situation.

As he put it, "I am a gay man and so it doesn't sit well with me at all. We are in Pride Month and when I saw that happen, something got triggered in me and I wanted to come to the young couple's defense."

In an ironic move for those who claimed to be concerned about the sensibilities of children, the two women can be seen loudly cursing at the crowd in response to the backlash.

What’s also notable about the video is when the group was called out for their actions— actions which they claimed were because their children were present, they proceeded to spout curse words and nasty remarks at everyone.

Interesting that repeated use of explicit profanity wasn’t on the group’s radar for unacceptable behaviour for a family trip to the pool.

And while that may demonstrate hypocrisy in their argument, it is far from the core of the issue.

As Avakov told CBS13, both security and bystanders reportedly asked the group to apologize to Veasley, but they refused and instead left while accompanied by security staff.

Twitter | @DLamontJenkins

As ABC10 reported, an attorney representing the group claimed they weren't intervening on kissing, but outright sexual intercourse between Veasley and her friend.

However, that version of the events neither lines up with witness statements nor the actions of the crowd and the security personnel present.

Veasley was able to later reflect on what had happened.

Looking back on the encounter, Veasley said, "It’s exhausting but I also felt very supportive from the other people at the pool.

She continued by stating, "It gave me faith for the future and it showed me that it’s going to take a long time, it’s a long road, but it’s a spark of faith."

Stories like this not only wake one up to the unfortunate reality that some individuals deal with but can also demonstrate the power of looking out for the wellbeing of others.

Unsplash | Adi Goldstein

Even strangers can support others when they decide to stand together. Instead of this story being solely about discrimination, it acts as a testimony of how many people won’t allow that discrimination to continue.

It demonstrates that supporting someone else can make all the difference and reiterates a point made earlier. And, as Veasley already said it best, we’ll use her words again, “It’s a spark of faith.”

h/t: CBS13, ABC10

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