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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 8:57 a.m.

Posted: 7:08 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011

Southwest, Lesbian Argument Creates Decency Debate

Airlines publish a code of conduct?

By Natalie Tripp

EL PASO, Texas —

Some people in El Paso want to know where the decency line is drawn after the recent incident at the El Paso International Airport where Hollywood actress, Leisha Hailey, was kicked off a flight for arguing with flight attendants after kissing her girlfriend.

The argument happened on Southwest flight 2274 heading to Los Angeles on Sunday. According to Southwest Airlines, passengers were complaining the lesbian couple was acting inappropriate and when a flight attendant asked the two women to stop, they started swearing at the attendants.

Hailey tweeted that she felt discriminated against because of the kissing, but the airline argued the kissing was not the action that removed the couple from the plane.

"Profane language was being used loudly by two passengers," read a statement from Southwest. "At least one family who was offended by the loud profanity moved to another area of the cabin.  Although we have reports of what customers characterize as an excessive public display of affection, ultimately their aggressive reaction led to their removal from the aircraft.  We do not tolerate discrimination against anyone for any reason.  In this situation, their removal was directly and solely related to the escalated conversation that developed onboard the aircraft."

Earlier this month, Billie Joe Armstrong, the front man for the music group Green Day, was also refused flight on Southwest Airlines for baggy pants, and just last week a man in New York had to turn his shirt inside out before flight attendants let him board an American Airlines flight due to an obscene phrase printed multiple times on the t-shirt.

With so many incidents happening within the same month, some people in El Paso said they'd like to know what is considered appropriate and inappropriate on an airplane.

"There should be an actual set of rules," said Emmanuel Zapien, who said he flies on Southwest frequently to visit his girlfriend. "They should draw a line and then let the public know what they can and can't do and can and can't wear. You see older couples kissing on the plane all the time and sometimes people get drunk on the plane and do ridiculous things."

"I think any form of transportation should be treated the same; there should not be any lines that say 'Oh, you can do can do that on a plane, but you can't do that on a bus, but you can do that in a taxi,'" said Ruben Sandoval, of west El Paso. "What if I can't afford a suit and tie?"

"There's a difference between appropriate and disrespectful," said Angelique Sotello, a student a UTEP. "If you respect yourself then respect other people who don't want to see your underwear or tons of public displays of affection."

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