Back Of The Bus For Gay Couple Visiting Alburquerque For Pride Week [Video]

A gay couple was ordered to sit in the back of the bus because they were holding hands during a visit to Alburquerque, New Mexico to celebrate Gay Pride Week. After waiting a month for an apology from the airport shuttle bus company, Ron McCoy and Chris Bowers have gone public about the incident.

And they’ve filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union to make sure no one is subjected to the shaming behavior again.

Check out that video from KRQE for the full story.

“If you’re going to [hold hands], OK, you’re going to the back of the bus,” is what McCoy said the shuttle bus driver told them.

As most frequent travelers know, you’re in a bad situation at an airport if you try to stand up for your rights. You have little choice but to do as you’re told. And that’s exactly what McCoy and Bowers did.

However, the incident was obvious and awful enough that witness Bernadette Aguirre came forward to support the gay couple’s side of the story.

An Alibi interview published in mid-July expanded on the reasons the gay couple was so hurt by the back of the bus treatment. McCoy explained:

“I’ve had people tell me that they hope I catch AIDS and die, but the difference was those were individuals…expressing their own bigoted, biased hate. But this was a guy operating a shuttle on behalf of the city of Albuquerque.”

And most of the folks on the bus pretended not to notice anything wrong. McCoy said almost everyone pretended to be looking at their cell phones.

The Alburquerque Sunport airport has acknowledged that the incident shouldn’t have happened.

Standard Parking spokesman told KRQE that all drivers will now be required to take sensitivity lessons.

Hey, it’s 2014. These folks need lessons to figure out you don’t send gay couples to the back of the bus for the high crime of holding hands? Eek.

[gay pride hands thumbnail photo by nito via Shutterstock]