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London: Gay couple threatened with death in violent late night homophobic assault
141
Government considers watered down same-sex marriage bill to minimise Tory rebellion
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Tory MP Gerald Howarth: 'There are plenty in the aggressive homosexual community who want more than just same-sex marriage'
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France: Far right activist commits suicide in Notre Dame following legalisation of equal marriage
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Philip Hammond: 'No great demand for gay marriage and it's upsetting vast numbers of people'
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Government to consider abolishing civil partnerships or opening up to straight couples
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Norman Tebbit: David Cameron has 'f**** things up' with his equal marriage bill
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Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather tells Catholic newspaper 'I never went into politics to tackle equal marriage'
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Lib Dem Deputy Leader Simon Hughes: 'Marriage should be between one man and one woman'
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Tory MP David Burrowes: 'I'm not anti-gay; I'm just pro-marriage'
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Robert in S. Kensington 648
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The Christian Institute’s PR man, no doubt.
Disgraceful behavior!
Now if the targets were being verbally abused for being black instead of gay the offender would be hauled before a judge so lets hope that’s what happens with this scumbag.
Unfortunately that won’t happen (hauled before a judge). The article said he was released by the police. In instances like this, I find some consolation in believing that he’ll “get his share” one day.
What goes round, comes around.
a case for forcable castration so he cant pass on the bigot gene I think.!
You’d have to find it first.
He is 56 most people his age have kids, hopefully he was castrated way before at the age of 20 or something. If not castrated, he needs to be castrated.
A bit unclear why he wasn’t charged with an agrivated public order offence.
Particularly as it appears from the video that the incident was winessed by, and a complaint was raised by, a third party unrelated to the victims.
I would be interested to see what the train company has top say about the flaky response from the conductor
He was also threatening too so it beggars belief that he only received a caution!
I support freedom of speech but this was really a diatribe of hate.
Quite possibly self-hate.
There are plenty of people that are as straight as a die that are vehemently homophobic.
Well that is enough proof to put him behind bars. Homophobia is a criminal act right. So he needs to pay the price. This world is not his. Its everyone who lives in it. That’s why we are here and we will be here for eternity. Yup, thats right, we ain’t going anywhere.
Not just homophobia – explicit threats of violence to other passengers.
Precisely. That is a far more serious offence, particularly when it is targeted at a minority.
Awful response from the train conductor. Did he try and ask the two men to move?
I think the train system should look into how they deal with these types of situations because that, simply put, was not good enough!
To be fair – the man’s a train conductor not a body guard , and the bloke making all the racket seemed to me to be very aggressive . Why would he risk physical violence for £9.00 an hour ? In his position I too would have asked the two gays guys if they would mind moving seats only because they were by far the most reasonable of the people involved . .
Removing the homophobic bloke from the train would have been fruitless as then the police would have had a hell of a time locating him again. The “caution” he got from the police was laughable . He should have received a heavy fine at the very least .
If you are having homophobic abuse hurled at you and your partner – YOU do not move. Would you ask a black person to move seats if someone were hurling racial abuse? I would hope not!
Also I disagree, it’s the job of the conductor to make sure that all passengers are safe and comfortable – this includes having to deal with aggressive and angry passengers. If more training is needed for that conductor – then so be it.
its not more than ten-fifteen minutes from blackpool north to kirkham. stop the train there, have the man arrested and removed from the train, let everyone continue in peace.
And for goodness sake don’t drop them off in Preston – some of us have to live here!
I disagree. These people are trained to defuse situations.
If the problem had not been handled correctly it could have developed into a full-on fight.
Had the person been black, yes, I would have asked them to move, and then got police waiting at the next station. Sometimes diplomacy can leave a nasty taste in the mouth, but better that than somebody ending up in hospital, or worse.
It would have been perfectly possibly to attempt to defuse the situation by asking the abuser to step out into the corridor to discuss his issues and take some further details, thereby removing him from the situation.
The complainants, having been identified, also potentially became targets and there may have also been others in the carriage who were visibly unhappy with the guy’s behaviour, potentially making them targets too.
Another option would have been simply to ask everyone to say in their seats and remain quiet until he had had an opportunity to take details from everyone.
The option he went for was probably the least good of the three, as it was seen to be inflammatory by the victims and may well have been seen as confirmation by the abuser that he was in the right.
To be honest I don’t think being black, white or otherwise is anything to do with the issue. I think the conductor was not appropriately trained in dealing with this type of situation.
@SMC:
Would you SERIOUSLY expect a train guard to do that?
You know damn fine well the guy would almost certainly kick off and plant him one.
What he did may not have been the most politically correct or just solution, but it was by far the safest.
The most likely people to move are the victims (they are being reasonable) the perpetrator is not. Secondly if you make him move there is chance he may vanish and cannot be located at the next stop by the police. Better to keep an eye on him and have him carted off when the train stops. Seems sensible to me. It’s not about fairness at that point, the conductor did a good job IMHO
I disagree. He should have been removed from that area and monitored in another part of the train by more than one member of the staff. What should not have happened was the conductor upsetting the victims of the situation more and allowing the man to continue his abuse in front of several people who were clearly unhappy with him being there. He should have immediately radio-ed his peers to let them know the situation so as to assist him. Completely useless.
As nasty as what the man was saying is, if you can’t handle a situation like that then you should not be working in the transport system – God knows there are worse people out there than that man!
When people like this say “It’s/your not normal” are they really saying- look, if you really tried you could be like me:-)?
It’s the neanderthal who’s not normal. Completely hysterical and incoherant.
The train guard was useless. The man was making direct threats of violence against other passengers and he did nothing. Which train company was this? They need to be told that their attitude towards passenger safety stinks.
First Transpennine.
Agree completely!
TRANS-PENNINE (TP)
Classic case of rejected tiny-pee-pee.
Nick Griffin in 3… 2… 1…
Good lads for not reacting to the abuse, and behaving like gentlemen.
Can’t believe he was just given a caution. I guess the police were caught up dealing with the odd racist remark.
Appalling behaviour!! As has already been said, if these guys had been black or female far more would have been done to this bigoted fool!
Yet another pathetic closet case who can’t deal with his own homosexuality. Sad.
While there’s no doubt that some people are homophobes because of what they fear finding in themselves, it’s too simplistic to imagine that every one is a closet case. Some people are just full of hate and, being tribal, seek to denigrate anyone who seems to them weaker.
Speaking personally I would greatly prefer to think the repellent individual in question never felt (or received) any same-sex attraction at all.
I don’t know whether I’m more sickened by the guard or the chap causing the trouble. I feel like I’m going to be sick now.
Don’t you just hate old fashioned scum bags like that.
But this is also how puny gay people get beaten up; they engage in the verbal arguments and let the situation get more and more heated..
But then they can’t back it up when push comes to shove… It’s a bit foolish really.
Yes, let’s just blame the victims… :/
No no, I definitely blame the bigots.. Honestly~
But at the same time, I have to question the wisdom of the puny gays who flare it up even more with mouthiness, when they can’t handle themselves in a fight.
It seems unhelpful to themselves – they could get killed~!!
I didn’t see any puny in the video. A lot of chair, but no puny.
Ye, you could see his wrist.
Maybe they were “puny” maybe they weren’t? But if they weren’t then scumbag would probably have kept quiet and gone home to hit the wife. You know what they are like? Always like to carefully select their target.
Look at his wrist.
But ye, you’re right!
From what I could surmise, they were young guys, and probably no match for a thug like that.
Whilst I agree one shouldn’t put up with abuse like that, sometimes it is best to live to fight another day. They had the video evidence, the train inspector and the authorities had been alerted, so better to move away and not exacerbate the situation still further.
What a ridiculous comment to make! Just because you can see a wrist it does not automatically make the guy ‘puny’ as you call it.
The guys are standing up for themselves and quite right too.
Just because someone may be slight of frame it does not make them weak!
Puny is a really nasty word to use for someone who has a slim build alongside many other words I can think of which I shockingly find many people think are acceptable labels to give people. There is nothing wrong with being slim, it’s not a big deal and Just because someone is slim doesn’t make them weak. People shouldn’t have to sit there and listen to that. Given the circumstances they reacted quite calmly and challenged the man’s views. Wouldn’t you?
Yeah, that’s right. My lesbian friend who walked out of a gay pub and got a broken bottle stuck into her neck by a gang of boys around the corner shouting ‘effing man-hater’ and my gay friend who walked into a pedestrian underpass on his way to the same pub and got jumped by three boys shouting ‘where is your money you effing poof’ who beat cr*p out of him and took his wallet were asking for everything they got.
They didn’t actually speak to or even see these upstanding young men before they were jumped, but hey – they must have deserved it, right? Just by having the cheek to exist.
Peter S. You are such a fool. Good for those guys for arguing back. I suppose you would have waded in like John Wayne. Is that what you want us to think? You have a puny mind. Grow up.
What a vile character.
The police dealing with this would have British Transport Police, who are essentially a private police force and have little experience outside of suicides and ticket offences.
The article doesn’t make it clear what section of the Public Order he was charged with, but what the guy did, certainly qualified as a Section 4 of the Public Act at least.
He makes it clear in the video that he will physcially hit the victims, if the train conductor doesn’t get rid of them.
Were it me, I’d now apply to BTP for this scumbags details, which they legally have to do.
I’d then visit a solicitor (or if you have enough legal knowledge you could do it yourself) and take a private prosecution against him in the civil courts.
In this instance, as the offender has accepted a caution, it means that legally he has admitted the offence.
Therefore in the Civil prosecution you don’t have to prove the original offence as this is already done for you – you only have to claim
damages, for which you’re entitled.
Personally I’d sue this scumbag and I hope the victims read this and consider this action.
Remember, he’s accepted a caution, so the original offence has been proven the same way as it would have been had he been taken to court.
He’s now free to be well and truly sued.
I hope this happens. By hitting these thugs in their pocket it’s the only way that a moron like this gets the message.
You on the money grabbing gravy train I see
No hes clearly someone who knows their rights.
Although he looks like he is on benefits and so wouldn’t even be worth suing because he can’t pay it.
@ Matthew,
No, I am not on the money grabbing train as you claim.
I’m on the side of acting within the law, and taking further steps to drive home to idiots like this that this sort of verbal violence has no place in our society.
Presumably, you consider the two couples who took the Christian Biggotted B&B owners to be on the same money grabbing train?
The train guard is not a body guard, however, there are transport police dedicated to all railways and the guard should have contacted them right away to deal with this oaf at the nearest station.
Taser him in the gonads, that’ll teach him
You’d have to find them first!
Hopefully when the Public Order Act is reformed we will be allowed to insult who we like.
Does it make you feel better about yourself to insult others? Not that this man was merely insulting – he was abusive and threatened violence. Drop the NARTH ‘help’, Matthew, and be proud of who you are.
Oh good. Then we can all call you a c*nt to your face.
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
It would seem so. Monotheism is such a headache in so many ways, it would seem.
I hope these two guys take the train company to the cleaners. I wouldn’t have been as patient with the ticket inspector as they were. The victims need to take a leaf out of the same book as the gay couple who were turned away from a B&B. Its the only language companies will understand. Time to get legal guys.
Agree with you there – the company has a duty of care to passengers and the conductor, clearly failed to prpotect the lads. Their language wasnt acceptable either, but I find it amazing that they were the ones asked to move.
Disgusts me.
What would your alternative have been?
If the situation had not been handled correctly, there could have been a full-on bout of fists.
And the lads would have been charged with assault !
Wonder if he was a “delegate” to the BNP conference which was held in Blackpool last weekend?
Reminds me of the My Tram Experience video on youtube last year of this vile woman shouting abuse at people on a tram. I seem to remember this women got some kind of punishment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5RM_I6BKjE
I’ve just watched your video. I’m glad it’s there for everyone to see this woman. The poor, poor child with her. I bet even at that age he/she just wishes his/her Mum would shut up. Everyone else behaved with dignity while the Mum clearly lost hers.
I feel so sorry for that kid! I remember seeing that video last year. The kid looks so miserable. I really hope he grows up alright, but I can’t really blame him if he grows up bigoted and full of hate too.
I actually think, in a way, the woman is good for being so open with her bigotry. Maybe it’ll push the kid to see how everyone else reacts to it, how despicable it is, instead of that kind of sly bigotry where children are taught to be racist/homophobic using coded words like ‘protect traditional marriage.’
The point is that this women is awaiting trail for her remarks. This man is just getting cautioned. I am anti-racial discrimanation, but this man he just gets cautioned for homophobic remarks. He should await trail too.
At first viewing of this video, I thought that the two gay lads were tending to inflame the situation by continuing to engage this bigot… but then again, Why not? Why not (safely) challenge this homophobe on his warped views? Fair play to the lads for sticking up for themselves and not just letting it pass..
I also say that I have to agree with the calls to take this further… It’s nothing to do with ‘jumping on a gravy-train’… It’s about making this bigot pay and hitting him where it hurts… It’s about a little more than a ‘caution’ !
It’s about justice, rather than avoiding paperwork and court cases for the convenience of Police, CPS, etc.
I have been in this situation and stood my ground only because Im older and not willing to turn the other way when abused. good on you guys for standing up for yourself far too many just look the other way and do nothing.
This is homophobic abuse I hope this man is charged, on human who action as just disgraceful.
Lee
I have said before that homophobic abuse is not taken seriously here in Blackpool, and this proves it. Would have been taken to court and convicted if it was racism. We are second class citizens.
Frightening, but real. I’ve seen that, heard that, dozens of times. This occasion has been caught on camera. Well done for having the presence of mind to do that!
I used to live in Manchester and went to Blackpool a lot, and that homophobe is just another very ordinary northern bigot. There are dozens of them around like him.
All the liberation of London hasn’t filtered into the remoter areas of the north, nor even into the suburbs of Manchester.
Chilling. And the thing is there are thousands of LGBTs living and working in that part of the country and this is what they’re up against.
IIRC, polls have shown that northerners are slightly more likely to support LGBT rights than southerners. You shouldn’t generalise about entire regions of the country based on a few personal experiences, much like people like this guy shouldn’t make silly generalisations about gay people.
“The victim said: “This man is vile, it all started at Blackpool North train station where I was kind of cuddled up to my friend Alex because it was cold and I was a little emotional”
More likely the ‘victim’ wanted everyone around to know he was part of the homo-deviant brigade.
Had I witnessed the two deviants behaving in such a manner, i would have articulated why their conduct is inapproprate and asked them to desist, If time allowed I would paraphrase the relevant bible scriptures which condemn homosexuality. Had they continued, I may have reported them for causing distress and offence .
Are you sure that wasn’t you?
And yet you still trawl this website under several different names to post childish comments like this.
Do us a favour sunshine and sod off!
You seem willfully not to get it. We don’t give a sh*t about what your rotten holy book says or the mad rubbish you believe about it. Now go away and take your medication. Preferably an overdose. Pathetic loser.
*thinks* “Neil, don’t feed the troll”
It would be lovely if this sort of thing were illegal in the US. Here, we simply cannot call the police for such an incident as it is considered ‘free speech’, not hate speech, which is exactly what it well and truly is. This is deeply antisocial behavior being exibited by this person, and personally, it is quite disgusting and unacceptable on every level, anywhere in this world.
Now that Obama is in the White House for another four years it would be a good idea for him introduce an Amendment to the US Constitution outlawing hate speech. This does not mean overturning the 1st Amendment which allows ‘free speech’ (in the same way that the 21st Amendment overturned the 18th Amendment which prohibited alcohol). It will simply separate ‘hate speech’ from ‘free speech’. You cannot have a rational debate with someone who spews hatred and violence.
Free speech under the 1st amendment only applies to the government interfering with an individual’s right to expression anyway, it has nothing to do with two random individuals on the street.
There is a difference between expressing an opinion (even strongly), and simply hurling abuse & threats to injure someone psychologically.
There should be an offense of “mental, emotional or psychological assault”
Why has this man not been punished by the government in the same way as the racist tram woman? Ridiculous.
Exactly my thoughts, Ollie.
Asking the two men to move was a ridiculous reaction by the conductor. He should have moved the man to another part of the train, read him the riot act and informed him the police will speak with him when he arrived at the destination station. To move the two guys, it’s almost acknowledging that their presence justifies a provocation.
No. Conductors are trained to ask the victims to move. That way they can keep an eye on the guilty party and give them less of a chance to escape. Also it helps to calm that person down so they can be reasoned with. Moreover, there is less chance of conflict. It makes sense if you step back and don’t just assume everyone is a homophobe.
This makes no sense. So if they ask the offender to move to another part of the carriage, the conductor will somehow lose them? Why can’t the conductor go with him to the other part of the train? It’s unlikely the man would disappear in front of his eyes if he escorted him to a different part of the train.
What a disgusting, foul-mouthed, homophobic rant by that lowlife. If I used language like that my mother would have washed my mouth out with carbolic soap. That individual should have been prosecuted under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and be made to pay compensation to the two men he offended. His behaviour was also disturbing to other passengers including women and children. Most people who may be uncomfortable about seeing two men ‘making out’ will be just content not watching them,
I am appalled that he has only received a caution. That is why people continue with their homophobic abuse because they know they will get away with it.
I hope that the guys who were being abused push to have further action taken as a caution is simply not good enough. I don’t doubt that the perpetrator would have some previous too.
why does he only get a caution? When those women in London hurled racist abuse, they get criminal convitions and are heard in Court. Are we a second class type of hate crime?
As I said earlier, the railway network are policed by British Transport Police, who in police circles are considerd a joke beyond a joke.
They’re essentially a private police force with limited funding. Their expertise is in mopping up after suicides and dealing with fare-evaders and tresspassers.
When the football fans board trains for away games, the BTP are assisted by the police force local to where the fans are based. For example, for London it’s the Met police and so on.
I’ve come across BTP police officers before and they have no real understanding of the wider issues of policing, for example, hate crime and so on.
I’ve never agreed with the railways having their own police force, and I am afraid this bears out my fears.
Essentially this ‘police force’ are the servants to their railway bosses and not the travelling public.
Were this scumbag not in possession of a ticket to travel, he’d have suffered a far worse fate, eg, fine and/or court appearance for fare evasion.
I do not in any way support the foul mouthed and bigoted man, and am all for the quiet couple minding their own business. That tirade was offensive and threatening.
The man was held in custody then accepted a Police Caution, and he now, if he didn’t before, has a criminal record. If he does this again and is dealt with by police then he will almost certainly end up before a magistrate. That earlier caution will be taken into consideration on sentencing for the next and subsequent offences.
The caution is not “Getting Away” with anything, but is an opportunity for the offender to consider their future actions, and a means of saving taxpayers’ money whilst being hopeful about rehabilitation.
Yes it is though, the my tram experience woman who had a racist rant at a train full of passangers is awaiting trail they never gave her a caution, now did they. She is facing trail.
Yet this man he has a similar attack on two gay men what does he get a caution. Just to make it extremely clear I am very anti-racist/homophobia. I believe equal rights for all no matter of race, colour, gender, age, sexuality or disability. As I say EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL!!!!!!
This was a heated argument, from what the video proves. Yes, unpleasant language was used, but it could be argued, from the footage, that the the man who was cautioned was actually being harassed.
Needless to say, this is why he was only given a caution.
Harrassed? In what way?
It is true there is nothing mentioned as to what started this whole affair, but there was obviously some strong indication to the guy that the couple were gay. At a guess the couple probably thought they were alone in the carriage and were having a snog.
I certainly would not see that as a reason for the tirade of verbal abuse they received in return.
I have never liked public displays of affection, gay or straight, but I would imagine these two thought they were in relative privacy, and the thugs reactions were completely unwarranted.
Plus he could have changed seats. Given that no-one was sat next to him may indicate there could be other free seats (unless people would rather stand than sit next to him). He looked surprised after his rant that it was him who was reported by the third party.
When on earth will people ever learn to let others be without starting a rant. It is true that we didn’t see how exactly this started but I’m still on the side of the gay couple from what I see here.
It started on the platform and was an unprovoked attack by the yob against the two guys. The footage is when it had gone on for some time. I think the victims didn’t help themselves by throwing a few explitives back to this scum bag, but I can fully understand why they did. It is difficult to take abuse in the hope that justice will prevail…it so often does not.
u get alot worseabuse in the london aids charity sector really vile – but the gay tory boys pay u.off in the end :-O if u destroy the evidence lol oooer.missus
A disgrace and an abomination on so called “Christian values”.
Homophobia, racism or any other forms of ignorance is NOT acceptable in today’s times and specially in a progressive country like UK.
and In this case I would prefer but DEATH BY HANGING for that homophobe
A CAUTION??? Definitely should have been locked up and fined for that disgusting rant.
29th may 2012
A drunk woman who racially abused fellow tube travellers in a tirade that was posted online has been jailed for 21 weeks.
Jacqueline Woodhouse, 42, from Romford in Essex, launched an expletive-laden rant at passengers on the Central line, telling those seated near her: “I used to live in England and now I live in the United Nations.”
So then, 21 weeks in jail for racists and a caution for homophobes. At least she had ‘an excuse’ in that she was drunk.
The fight carried on against this unequal treatment
If I’m thinking about the same case, she was given a prison sentence because she repeatedly threatened other passengers with violence, not because she was racist.
The threats of violence were also made in this instance… I think the similarities speak more volume to me than the differences “you move ‘em or I whack ‘em” was uttered at one point.
I’d like to think he was properly named and shamed by this footage but I’d imagine most if not all of his close mates would be fully fledged bigots too.
funny he only gets a caution and is let off! similar racist cases end up with a custodial sentence so why not him, or isn’t homophobia an issue for British Transport Police in the North?
Let off with a warning, is that what is now called justice in Cameron’s Britain in 2012, clearly when LGBT peoploe get abused the law let them off. Had he been racist, islamaphobic or anti-semetic I bet it it would have gone to court and possibly a custodial sentence been the result, what a disgrace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64bfM38zxfM
This is the link to the video.
That bald-head oaf is from Manchester; the accent gives it away.
It is my bet that he has been to Blackpool to try to pull; has failed for obvious reasons and…..well, there you go.
What is the silly old fart doing out so late anyway; and why is he not cuggled up to Mrs Oaf…?
In combats as well..?
Who’s he trying to impress?
Some chav bint…?
Any chav bint looking at that would do so just the once and collapse laffin’…..like I’m doin’ nowwwww ahahhahahahahhahahahaaa.!!