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The kiss, a symbol of endearment and intimacy, became a mark of protest on Valentine's Day in response to a proposed amendment in the November ballot, which could invalidate gay marriage in Florida.
Members of Students for Fairness, a group dedicated to gay rights, marched hand-in-hand into the Student Union and circled the Pegasus insignia. A group of 20 people, some gay, some heterosexual, kissed for several minutes as others watched, took pictures on cell phones, cheered or stared bewildered.
"Same-sex marriage should be freedom of love, not decided by heterosexuals on who should be married," said Kristen Pratt, a 19-year-old humanities major. "If you love each other, that should be all that counts."
Pratt joined to protest as a heterosexual woman and kissed another woman to show her support for the cause.
Ashley Lee, a 19-year-old women's studies major, said she felt nervous about participating in the protest but resolved to do it anyway.
"The Marriage Protection Act would take away rights from all couples, all funding for civil unions and domestic partnerships," Lee said.
Group members wore yellow signs on their backs displaying the Web site WhoHasPrivileges.org. The site opposes the marriage amendment, calling it oppressive.
The Marriage Protection Act aims to uphold marriage as being between a man and a woman, invalidating gay marriage in the state. Protesters also wanted to bring awareness to other gay issues.
"I think a lot of people paid attention," said Benjamin Tucker, a 22-year-old philosophy major. "It was good for what we were trying to do, which is raise awareness. This campus has no transgender protection for any of its students or teachers, and there is a presence.
"The undergraduate catalog does not protect sexual orientation as it does under the Golden Rule. It's oppression."
Lisa Fedrowitz, a 22-year-old sociology major, said she hopes people will realize the troubles facing same-sex marriage.
"I absolutely support equality for everyone," Fedrowitz said. "What better way to protest than to make out with my boyfriend?"
David Sirois, a 24-year-old creative writing major, said that the amendment is based on a particular group's agenda.
"We want to get people thinking, 'Why does this make me uncomfortable?' It's just kissing," Sirois said. "[The Marriage Act] is people's agenda, forcing perceived morals, realizing it affects a lot of people negatively."
The Web site Florida4marriage.org outlines reasons why a voter should vote yes on Amendment 2.
An article linked on the site titled "Ten Persuasive Answers to the Question: Why not Gay Marriage?" by Glenn T. Stanton, a research fellow for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, attempts to qualify the opposition to same-sex marriages.
The article asks such questions as "Does gender really matter?" and compares same-sex relations and male-female relations to chocolate and vanilla preferences and Mr. Potato Head dolls.
"There is no real difference between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head," Stanton writes. "They have the same central core, but merely external interchangeable parts. There's no real difference.
"That's exactly what many believe [about gay marriage]. But no. … Our maleness and femaleness go right to the very core of our being. Every person matters as a male or female. Each has what the other needs but lacks. … The idea that male and female are replaceable is really an anti-human message."
Jessica Osborne, 24, a student activist, said she supports equal rights in marriage.
"Why shouldn't everyone have equal rights?" Osborne said. "What does my life have to do with yours? … It's not a gay thing, it's a Floridian families thing. Everybody is affected."?
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