Teenage lesbians vindicated over bus kiss
A bus driver who kicked two 14-year-old girls off a bus in Oregon for kissing will be disciplined, it has been announced.
A spokesman for Portland’s transit system said the driver, who had eleven years experience, had broken company policy.
“Removing the girls from the bus was not consistent with our policy,” said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen. “I want to reiterate that we welcome all riders on our system.
“TriMet sincerely apologises to the girls and their families for this incident.”
Maika Rich and Jocelyn O’Neal had told KATU-TV that they were on a bus headed to the Sexual Minority Youth Recreation Centre on 8th June.
A passenger complained to the driver that they had been kissing.
He ordered them to stop, calling them “sickos.”
When the girls then hugged he told them to get off.
The city of Portland’s transit system has a policy that bars drivers from ejecting underage people from buses without first getting assistance.
The state of Oregon recently passed laws to extend discrimination law to include sexual orientation, but they do not come into force until 2008.
