Wisconsin radio
station opens kissing contest to all

After gay rights advocates threatened a protest, a Wisconsin radio station changed the rules for a kissing contest promotion to allow gay and lesbian couples to participate. The initial rules for Z-104 Madison's "Connie and Fish Kiss-Off" required contestant couples be of the opposite sex. But after activists complained and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, campus Women's Center announced a silent protest, station management backed down. They also relocated the contest from a local mall to the station's own parking lot--which may reflect the source of the problem in the first place. Women's Center spokesperson Franny Marion says managers at the West Towne mall told her that they laid down the "opposite-sex" rule "for the comfort and safety of customers." The Capital Times of Madison reports that West Towne general manager Paul Matyas refused to confirm that claim, calling it a sensitive issue and saying the station chose to move the event on its own. (Sirius OutQ News)