TRANSIT STRIKE

Gay Couple Ejected From Chicago Bus For Kissing, Holding Hands

“You bitches need to get off the bus…I can’t stand fags.”

That’s what a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver allegedly told Christopher Buchanan and his boyfriend, Derrell Hughes, when he caught them kissing and holding hands on a bus in Lakeview. Buchanan says the bus driver was responding to a complaint by another passenger.

“Where does it state on CTA we can’t kiss on the bus?” Buchanan said to Windy City Times. “Straight people kiss on the bus all the time.” In fact Buchanan said there was a heterosexual couple kissing on the same bus they were on.

When Buchanan and Hughes—both of whom are African-American—refused to leave, the driver called the police, who said the couple hadn’t done anything illegal. But after a two-hour ordeal, the men decided to depart anyway. They’re taking up the matter with CTA authorities before pursuing any legal action.

“If [the CTA] doesn’t take it seriously enough, we’ll file a complaint,” says Jacob Meister of The Civil Rights Agenda, who is representing the couple. “It will cause them problems, and I don’t think they want that.”

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