A same-sex couple was forced by a New Mexico driver to sit in the back of the bus on their way into town from the airport. Ron McCoy and his partner, Chris Bowers were visiting Albuquerque from their home in Portland, Oregon, just two days after the Supreme Court struck down DOMA.
After boarding an airport shuttle, the sat in a seat an happened to hold hands. The driver they say, after seeming visibly disturbed by the simple act demanded they move to the back of the bus.
“I saw him look at us, look down at his hands and he looked so angry,†McCoy told KRQE News:
“He just blurted out at me, he goes, ‘Okay, if you’re going to do that, you’re going to the back of the bus.'”
Shocked and not wanting to cause problems, the couple obeyed.
Once the shuttle stopped at its destination, however, the couple asked the driver why he forced them to move.
“I said, ‘I think it was because you didn’t like the fact that I was holding my partner’s hand.” He goes, ‘See, now you’re telling on yourself.’ My partner responds, ‘Well, that’s discrimination,” and the driver responds, ‘You’re telling on yourself again,’†McCoy said.
A woman, originally from Albuquerque, witnessed the confrontation and jumped in.
“I told the bus driver that I was completely appalled that anybody would be treated this way,†Bernadette Aguirre said.
“And the driver looks back at us and goes, “I’ll show you what’s appalling,” and he points to us,†McCoy said.
The couple say they have not received an apology from the bus company and are considering legal action.