What started as an innocent symbol of love has now turned into a full-blown controversy.

Lovers, couples, sweethearts, and newlyweds expressing their eternal love in the world’s most romantic city have been leaving padlocks on the Pont des Arts since 2008. The tradition started way before the newly minted Paris one, 100 years ago in a Serbian spa town during WW I.

In recent years the love lock phenomenon has over spilled to other bridges in Paris, as the Pont des Artshas run out of room, with the city frequently cutting off the locks, only to have new ones immediately replace them

As much as Paris caters to tourists, locals are getting fed up with the locks. Many feel tourists are abusing their rights and marring the bridges.

Two American expats, Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor Huff, have taken tackled the problem head on by starting up No Love Locks, a movement to ban them. Huff and Anselmo state that the locks have become a visual plague on the landscape of the city and that they are degrading and damaging the structure of the bridges, a threat to the cultural heritage. They have collected over 6800 signatures on change.org to ban the locks and have written an open letter to the new mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. The movement has gained tons of international press including articles inThe New York Times, Yahoo, and The Huffington Post.

Although I have not yet signed the petition, I am siding with Lisa, Lisa (okay, I had to get that joke in aka Lisa, Lisa & Cult Jam from the 80s). I walk a fine line though, since I am in the tourism business and certainly don’t want do anything to discourage tourists but I feel it has gotten out of control. It’s become a new form of graffiti, with people freely putting locks wherever they want and not respecting public spaces.

I would love to have your opinion.

Click here for more about No Love Locks.