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NYC Cabbie: Gay Couple Scared Me


NEW YORK TAXI X390 (PHOTOS.COM) | ADVOCATE.COM

The New York City cab driver accused of booting a gay couple from his car for hugging said he was terrified the men were about to have sex, and his boss added that the situation was especially difficult for a Muslim cabbie to handle.

Medhat Mohamed faces penalties and possible license revocation for ejecting Paul Bruno and his partner from his cab in Manhattan after driving only two blocks Monday night, citing their displays of affection toward each other as the reason for refusing them service.

"I wanted to pay attention to getting them to their destination instead of worrying if they were going to have sex or not," Mohamed told the New York Post on Wednesday.

The driver said he told Bruno and his partner that they could remain in the car if they stopped touching, but Bruno denies such an offer was made.

Mahmoud Elnefnawy, who owns the taxi medallion used by Mohamed, suggested that his Islamic religion was the reason for the episode, telling the New York Post, “in our religion, we can't handle that stuff."

"There's no kissing allowed in the cab,” said Elnefnawy. “A man has to be a man."

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Adrianus
    Date posted: 11/9/2009 2:06:19 AM
    Hometown: Norhridge, CA

    Comment:

    Religions are poison for our society, especially the fundamental ones. I can't believe our homeland security keep granting greencard for muslims. This is not a healthy practice for our country. Atheist people more humane than that of so called religion of peace followers. We have enough poison in America comes from fundamentalist christian, jews and mormon. Perhaps, our system is severely infiltrated by those bad people already. How we clean it???

  • Name: Mike
    Date posted: 11/6/2009 3:55:30 AM
    Hometown: Indianapolis

    Comment:

    I din it ironic that it is not uncommon for straight muslim men to hold hands as they walk and to exchange kiss on the cheek with close male acquaintances. This guy is just a homophobe and please, have sex in the back of a NYC taxi? Every one of them I've ever been in are so dirty I feel like I need to take a bath in Lysol when I get out. Give me a break!

  • Name: S.O.S. to the free world help us gain our civil rights in the Not so United States of America
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 9:45:20 PM
    Hometown: USA born seeking freedom will you take us Europe?

    Comment:

    Of course it's the old "GAY PANIC" defense. Still working in 2009. Wow what a great country the U.S.A. is. I wonder if Spain would offer LGBT citizens of the U.S.A Asylum? France ? Maybe we should flee to the more free and equal place like the E.U..

  • Name: Ryan
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 5:40:03 PM
    Hometown: Boston

    Comment:

    The racism and religious intolerance displayed in these comments is disgusting. Yes what the cab driver did was wrong--and he'll answer to Taxi and Limo Commission for it--but he is not the spokesperson for all Muslims or all Arabs, and this is not the type of thing someone can be deported for (charming how everyone just assumes he is a resident alien, btw).

  • Name: Fred Stanley
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 4:35:34 PM
    Hometown: Palm Springs, CA

    Comment:

    It should be a crime that this homophobic cab driver was offended by affection between two men. I am sure his reaction would be the same if it had been two women.

  • Name: Phillip
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 1:32:23 PM
    Hometown: Reseda

    Comment:

    Glory holes, gay pride parades with gay men waving their doozies to the audience, gyms where gay men have sex in the showers (wear go-aheads). Why would this cabbie be afraid that they would have sex right then and there?

  • Name: dodin
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 10:54:24 AM
    Hometown: City of Industry

    Comment:

    Guess what mahmoud or whatever your name is... here in the US we don't tolerate discrimination. So if your religion practices prejudice why don't you go back where discrimination is the staple food of the day!

  • Name: Roy
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 10:50:06 AM
    Hometown: Madison

    Comment:

    I think we are making a mistake by overreacting to this incident. It should not have happened! The driver should be forced to undergo sensitivity training but not kicked out of the country. We have plenty of homophobic bigots in the US; Black Muslums, Evangelical Christians, Catholics, heterosexaul Mexicans, Jamaicans, orthodox Jews, etc. etc. etc. I had to laugh about the comment somebody made: "A Jewish cab driver would never have acted like that." I used to live in Kew Gardens, Queens. The neighborhood was filled with conservative Jews so filled with hatred that they yelled homophobic insults at me when I walked down the street.

  • Name: Michael
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 10:39:59 AM
    Hometown: Manchester

    Comment:

    On second thought, the gay couple wouldn't have had sex in your cab because of the stink coming from the front seat. Try taking a shower you dirty, stinking fool !!! Now we just traded stereotypes....how do you like that?

  • Name: Michael
    Date posted: 11/5/2009 10:27:33 AM
    Hometown: Manchester

    Comment:

    So, I guess a man would still be a man if he was banging a woman in the cab??? The cab driver would probably have watch that... clearly a double standard. Just another fool hiding behind his religion blinded by hate and fear.

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