Dec 7, 2005 12:00 pm US/Central
Gay Men Claim Driver Ousted Them From Cab
by Esme Murphy
(WCCO)
Three gay men say they were kicked out of a Twin Cities taxi by a cabbie who said a couple's kiss violated his religious beliefs.
The three men took a cab home after partying at The Saloon in downtown Minneapolis last Friday.
Brent Opall said his friends exchanged a kiss in the cab. "It wasn't anything very intimate, just a peck on the cheek," he said.
Opall said the driver started yelling, "making statements like he can't be surrounded by people like us -- it was against his religion, (making statements such as) 'Burn in hell,' 'Go to hell.'"
The men said the driver ordered them out. The men did not get the cab's number, but said it was a Blue & White taxi.
The general manager of Blue & White said the incident is under investigation and that he is trying to determine who the cabbie might have been.
The manager said that kind of behavior by a cab driver is unacceptable and has never happened in the company before.
Many local cabbies are Muslim, and many Muslims believe homosexuality violates Islamic law.
State Rep. Keith Ellison, a Muslim and an attorney, told WCCO-TV the cab incident probably violates state law.
"It was really hurtful," Opall said.
Opall's friends declined an on-camera interview because of privacy concerns.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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