Ben Kesslen

On the count of three, about 50 gay couples kissed their partners in the public square of a small town in the Ozark Mountains. Jay Wilks, the event’s organizer, told the crowd to do it over. “With more passion this time!” he shouted into the microphone. Wilks counted down again, and queer and trans people embraced their partners, now with the gusto he demanded. The couples, decked out in so much pride gear that despite the day’s clear weather rainbows abounded, held each other, laughed and, most important, kissed. It was PDA in the Park, the signature event of early […]