Teenagers Kiss Off S. African Lip-Locking Ban

South African teenagers held a “kiss-in” yesterday to protest a new law that criminalizes romantic physical contact with anyone under 16, the Washington Post reports. The "Kissing Law” is intended to make it easier to prosecute older men sexually involved with younger girls. But the law has outraged students, pushing authorities to say they don’t intend to arrest young people who violate it.

Dozens of demonstrators skated onto an ice rink in suburban Johannesburg yesterday, hugging and kissing at the cue of a deejay. “We’re young. We need to experiment,” said a 12-year-old girl. Officials insisted teens don’t have to worry. “Technically, it is illegal, but obviously those children are not going to be charged,” said a Justice Department spokesman. (More South Africa stories.)