Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...NYC Cabbie kicks out gay couple for hugging
11.04.2009 4:30pm EST
The New York Post reported today that a New York City taxi driver kicked a gay couple out of his vehicle after he saw them hugging in the backseat.
Paul Bruno, 27, and his partner were sitting close to one another after hailing a taxi at 13th Street and First Avenue on Monday night.Bruno told the Post that the taxi driver, Medhat Monhamed, pulled the car over after driving only two blocks and said, “You guys have to get out of the taxi! Hugging is not allowed in here!”
The couple immediately filed a complaint against the driver with the Taxi and Limousine Commision (TLC) by dialing 311.
Bruno said, “I don’t know if it was a personal or religious thing. But it’s never OK to deny anyone a ride, especially when it’s such blatant and direct discrimination.”
A spokesman for TLC said they would investigate and take this allegation seriously, resulting in a $200 to $500 fine for Mohamed if it is his first offense.
Both men want a formal apology from the driver.
Bruno said, “He’s in the wrong place and in the wrong line of work if he doesn’t have an open and tolerant attitude,” adding, “I’ve seen a lot more go on in taxis than hugging.”
file suit and while your at it check his green card
Don’t forget to bring the ham sandwiches and beer into the cab while your at it. If it is religious then we would really know it then.
another homophobic taxi Driver!lol i swear so stupid! plus he’s a middle eastern driver, he’s in the wrong profession.
I doubt that anything is going to happen. If it were a black couple, then the guy would get the book thrown at him, but nothing is going to happen because they were a gay couple.
Every gay in NYC should deliberately look for this asshole and hail his cab just to smear pig fat and menstrual blood in his car. I have lesbian friends who would gladly donate a used feminine product to stuff under the seat.
He’s the one who should be kicked out, out of America! This isn’t the desert this rag-head crawled out of. Better yet, let’s deep fry this bitch and his filthy family in pork fat and then flush him down the toilet at the Ramrod! Then he can go play checkers with mohammad (PISS be upon him)!!!
This is exactly why your gay fight isn’t going anywhere. You all sound like racist white people. Well I need for you guys to shut the fuck up because I am a black lesbian and your bigotry is turning potentially some gay supporters off. Get it together assholes, Maine is full of your white brothers and sisters who showed you wear to stick your rights. So get a clue and learn how to be properly offended about the issue at hand. One damn cab driver and one damn couple. What more do you expect? A fine is appropriate. Damn you guys need to continue to be oppressed because your attitudes are horrible.
>This isn’t the desert this rag-head crawled out of.
As a suggestion: it’s not a good idea to fight hate with hate. The Karma isn’t good, IMO.
Thanks for the cooler heads, Trina and Gerry.
“If we allow discrimination against one group of people, we enable discrimination against all groups of people.”
Be angry at the injustice, people – but don’t take it out on someone else’s minority status. Take your anger out on the companies, organisations, and politicians that allow the injustice to exist.
The guy needs to have the book thrown at him. NYC does have laws that protect us. Meanwhile though, we need to clean up our own act here. Bigotry is bigotry and it’s always wrong.
This is not news. How about getting kicked out of your apartment for being gay? Happened to us in Beijing.
Agree with Trina Sarita Boone. btw. The racist comments are sickening and just mean you deserve any hate you get back.
Trina has a point, and some comments were inappropriate but she is picking sides too saying the whites voted down our rights in Maine. As we learned in California that is a conversation best not had as the data, when it comes out, may reveal something quite surprising.
BUT we have to learn that speaking out against religious based bigotry is ok and is not bigotry.
Calling him a towel head? yes, bigotry…even assuming he’s an immigrant (ok, I know, NYC cab, what else could he be?….) has tinges of bigotry.
But saying he cannot and must not use his religion to guide his prejudices at work, saying he is being bigoted due to his religion, even speaking out forcefully against all religions that promote hate IS NOT bigotry.
Religous based intolerance is horrible, and fighting it does not accurately warrant a label of inapropriate religious intolelerance. I will continue to be intolerant of religions that instruct followers to be prejudiced against me, and that is the moral high ground.
I had many, many conversations with christian bigots in maine and I never fealt out of decency that I had to sugar coat it. Those that fight our rights are bad christians, bad people, bigots. Those leaders that incite this are bad christians, sub human and have major issues to deal with (Marc Mutty and the bishop of Portland).
Those that told me they are christian and would vote no I thanked and told them I respected their faith and their understanding of its private nature.
However, I still think they are brainwashed cultists, just not using it to hate me. I might still work to cure people of being brainwashed, but they aren’t bigots by definition.
this guy seems like he is and for that I see no issue with getting in his cab and wrapping pig intestines around his neck!
Trina and Dave said it best–comments like “towel head” are not going to get us anywhere and is not even the issue here.
Assuming the guy is Muslim, his behavior is probably based on his interpretation of his religion and his own bigotry as well.
Attack the driver because he is a fool. (I hope the couple DID NOT pay for the trip.) Applaud the couple because they filed a complaint and are working WITHIN the system, The idiot driver could very lose his license and livelihood over this.
But we don’t need to crawl around in the sewage of racism and religious intolerance. We are better than that!!
Omg, the racist comments here are disgusting. I’m a white male and appalled at the horrible words being written in this column. You guys seriously need to do some soul-searching.
As for the article, the cabbie deserves to be fined to the fullest extent allowable AND the TLC should consider suspending his license. If he doesn’t agree with giving gays rides in his car then he needs to find another line of work.
Just a thought…does the TLC require cultural sensitivity training of its drivers? It might want to consider that.
I’m disguted by some of the comments here. How do we as homosexuals expect to get anywhere when we ourselves are clearly promoting bigotry and discrimination. Rag heads, really? Your no better than anyone else that calls us fags or dykes. Get it together people, its the karma thats against all of you thats most likely holding all of US from getting what we deserve.