Some things are cut and dried. A same sex couple being refused a double bed in a B&B is blatant prejudice. Being assaulted in the street, as has happened to me, because of holding hands with a partner is another.
 
But is the reaction to the John Snow debacle a knee-jerk one? Is it because there still exists appalling homophobia in the UK that anytime gay men are chastised over their behaviour it is assumed to be fuelled by bigotry and discrimination rather than views on acceptable behaviour?
 
Historically, public sex between gay men (cottaging) has been defined as part of "gay male culture" and therefore, according to some, above criticism. Obviously I am not comparing kissing in a pub to having sex in a public toilet or park, but perhaps the fact that cottaging has been defended by some gay rights campaigners almost as a "right" of an oppressed minority has resulted in the application of a double standard. 
 
Cottaging grew out of a climate in which there was nowhere for gay men to meet legitimately in public, such as the bars and clubs now prevalent in cities, towns and even villages around the UK. But it still exists as a practice. In 1998 Labour Party MP Ron Davies was mugged at knife point on Clapham Common and resigned after it became clear he was cruising at a known cottaging area. There have been more recent cases involving public gay figures such as the singer George Michael.
 
It has been argued by the likes of gay pressure group Outrage! that police activity in known cottaging areas is fuelled by homophobia as opposed to upholding public decency. But I cannot imagine that many folk would wish to stumble upon two men having outdoor sex.
 
I recently read in my local newspaper that one of the toilets of a well-known north London department store is becoming a haunt for gay men looking for sex, and that one man has been cautioned after being discovered having sex with another in a  cubicle. This is not OK. Heterosexuals are rightly condemned and arrested for "Dogging" (having public sex in car parks), so why should gay men be let off the hook because it used to be difficult to find a sexual partner?
 
To return to the couple in the John Snow; if the protest against them kissing was fuelled by homophobia then I wholeheartedly disapprove. But I believe there is a time and a place for public displays of sexualised behaviour, whatever your sexual orientation. I find it distasteful and unpleasant, and have no desire to witness such intimacy between people I do not know. If I did I would go to a sex club.
 
I asked a number of my lesbian friends whether they think that what happened to the couple was homophobic, and all were pretty much united in opinion. "If they would treat heterosexual couples in the same way then no, of course not," said one, "I don't think it has to be homophobia. I find snogging in public a bit too sexual for public display, best done privately, whether homo- or hetero-sexual couples," said another. "Personally, if I was asked to stop I would have done and not dreamed of carrying on." But my favourite comment has to be, "I think full-on snogging in public is a bit naff if you are older than about 15, no matter what gender the snoggers are." Hear, hear.