Gay couple were left appalled after tirade of homophobic abuse at bus stop

A gay couple became victims of homophobic abuse after one of the men put his hand on his husband’s shoulder.

Chris, 43, was waiting for taxi in Hull city centre at the beginning of the month after a night out with his friends and husband, Max, but people started to hurl abuse at them because of their sexuality with one person saying they will “bum everyone at the bus stop”.

Chris told the Hull Daily Mail: “My husband came over and touched my shoulder just to say, ‘We are going to get a cab this side’.

“There were two older guys to my right. They both had Hull accents and they said, ‘We find that offensive’.

“One of them said, ‘I wouldn’t touch my wife’s shoulder in public’ and I thought, ‘Fine, but that’s not my issue’.”

It was after this first attack that other standing nearby got involved launching their own scathing rant at the couple.

“They said to the other men, ‘You just can’t win with these types of people. It’s like veganism’,” Chris added.

“I said, ‘I don’t get what you mean’, then they said, ‘you fucking gays, you can’t win’.

“One of them was using more threatening homophobic language and said we were going to ‘bum everybody at the bus stop.’ I was just thinking. ‘Really?’

“One of the guys with us got quite upset about it and I just thought there really was no need for it. Even the taxi driver apologised when we got in.”

Although shocked and appalled by what happened, Chris decided not to report it to the police.

He said: “They are probably not aware of diversity and I think they’re ignorant quite frankly.

“We didn’t report it the police because we did what we had to do. They probably expected us to run away and didn’t think we would challenge them.

“I’m from Hull originally and growing up here was always like that. It’s incredibly upsetting and disappointing that in a world where we should be embracing cultures and diversity we are still having this.”

Chris also went on to say that he hopes the city will start realising the impact homophobic comments can have on victims.

“I think there needs to be more educating in schools but I guess there will always be some parts of society who don’t like something,” he added.

“The abuse we suffered was not acceptable. It’s hurtful and it’s not helping those that need support.

“The people at the taxi rank are the ones who need educating and the more people who stand up to this behaviour in a non-aggressive way the better.

“Hull is not as diverse as other cities and I think some people need to be more aware of its impact by being more accepting.”