Bus Passenger Told to Move to the Back of the Bus after Complaining about Anti-gay Sign
Washington Blade reported on Friday that a driver of D.C. Circulator tourist buses (operated by First Transit) has been fired for telling a passenger, Cameron Smith, to move to the back of the bus after Cameron complained about a sign equating homosexuality with murder behind the driver’s seat. The D.C. Department of Transportation still isn’t sure if the driver posted the sign, but does it matter?
Cameron Smith, the passenger who complained about the poster, sent an e-mail to the Washington Blade describing its message.
“The poster reads in part, ‘He is to be worshipped…[and] feared by refraining from all that he has forbidden (i.e. worship of other than Him…murder, oppression, homosexuality/lesbianism [sic]…all sins done in public or in secret),’†Smith stated in his e-mail.
“The poster bears no notice of authorship or affiliation,†Smith said. “It is a large white poster about 2.5 feet tall and 2 feet wide with large black lettering. It is posted directly behind the driver.â€
Circulator buses were created under an agreement between D.C. government the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Back in 2002, the D.C. Metro, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, received complaints from gay activists when Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays posters were placed in subway stations.
Some gay activists complained in 2002 when Metro accepted posters in its subway stations from the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. The posters stated that gays can change to heterosexuality and encouraged gays to call the group, known as PFOX, for help.
Metro argued that the posters met the transit systems guidelines for public service announcements, and that Metro also would accept messages from a gay rights group. The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance announced it would oppose efforts to remove the PFOX posters on First Amendment, free-speech grounds, saying a ban on certain messages could lead to bans on pro-gay messages.
Jeez. Only in America. Over here in the UK now, thank goodness, that kind of thing is illegal. Our biggest bus company, Stagecoach, is owned by an evangelical Christian who, it goes without saying really given that fact, is rampantly homophobic. He spent millions when Clause 28 was about to be scrapped, trying to stop that happening in Scotland (assume you’ve heard of that – former piece of legislation to stop ‘promotion of homosexuality in schools’, brought in by Thatcher in the mid-80s and finally got rid of a few years back).
He failed. He’d also employed a PR company specifically to help him in that aim. It caused a lot of outrage at the time but wasn’t illegal; it would be now because it would clearly be classed as ‘incitement to hatred’. I’m not sure how born-agains are going to work their anti-gay poison over here now… It will be interesting to monitor… x