Gay kiss-in held at John Snow pub in London

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a London pub Friday evening to stage a so-called "kiss-in" to protest what they considered a snub on gays.

The incident began Wednesday night when two young men met at the John Snow pub in London's Soho district to share a first date.

The men, James Bull, 23, and Jonathan Williams, 26, marked the date with a kiss at the pub.

"The date had been going really well until that point," Bull told BBC.

The pub apparently did not find the kiss quite as fun and kicked the couple out.

Williams took the incident to Twitter, writing: "Seven years in London & I've never been made to feel bad for being gay. 45 min ago the John Snow pub, W1F had me removed for kissing a date."

This got the story picked up by the gay press in London. It soon landed on the front page of the Guardian. Soon a protest movement was organized through Facebook. Hundreds planned to attend a "kiss-in" at the bar on Friday at 7 p.m.

But the pub closed early, leaving patrons locked out on the street with beverages in hand, the Guardian reports.

Hundreds gathered anyway and held their "gay kiss-in" on the street outside the pub.

"It's still a victory," said Paul Shetler, a senior director at an IT firm, told the Guardian. "They've wound up losing a night's takings because they couldn't have a bunch of men with tongues in each others' mouths."

The pub owners have not commented publicly on the incident.

As for the couple, they already have date number two planned.

DISCUSSION: Should the pub have allowed the couple to kiss inside? How should the couple and their supporters have responded? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.