Last night, somewhere around 50 people gathered at the 13th and U Rite Aid for a “hug-in” to protest an October 13th incident where two gay men were kicked out of the store for embracing. A “catalyst couple” threw out the first hug and all the other pairs followed. Soon, there were were upwards of 20 same-sex couples hugging in the lobby.

DCist covered the event (you can spot Michael and I in the first picture below the text) and you can watch Fox’s coverage, including an interview with Michael.

Further details and photographs below the fold.

Most participants gathered before the event at Nellie’s to meet their fellow huggers and pair up anyone without a partner. We started trickling over the Rite Aid a little before 7 to find we had been beaten there by a police car, the Fox 5 news van and councilmember Jim Graham. Mike Browne, one of the men thrown out for the initial hug, even came by afterwards to express his support.

The spirit of the event was generally positive. There was no opposition from the store’s security guards or customers, with the exception of one man who proclaimed that the original huggers had been thrown out for “fondling each other” and that homosexuality was wrong. The same man later offered to expose himself to our photographer and was generally paid little attention.

But enough talk. Several participants were nice enough to take some pictures of the event. You can take a look at them below.

The following shots were taken by local photographer K. Touchton Leonard:

A line of huggers. This looked even more impressive in person.

While most hugs were of the conventional two-person variety, some group hugs did find their way into the proceedings.

Councilman Graham.

Michael being interviewed by Fox 5 news.

Michael and original hugger Mike Browne.

Other photos can be found at the Flickr pages of participants Fredo Alvarez and Matt Howe.