Mister Ed and Wibur refused to comment on this story.
Posted on 06/12/2005 3:14:35 PM PDT by quidnunc
Police officers who arrested a student for calling a police horse "gay" have been accused of "absurd heavy-handedness and over-reaction" by a leading campaigner for homosexual rights.
Peter Tatchell of the pressure group Outrage! said that the arrest of Sam Brown, a student at Oxford University, "brought the police service into disrepute".
Mr Brown, 21, a student at Balliol College, was arrested for causing harassment, alarm or distress and fined £80 after asking a mounted police officer if he knew that his horse was homosexual.
The student made the remark during a night out in Oxford where he was celebrating completing his English Literature degree.
Mr Tatchell, who has handcuffed himself to Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, in his campaign for homosexual rights, accused the police of grossly wasting their time and resources. "The police are not doing nearly enough to halt genuine violence against gay people and yet they waste their time on this absurd arrest," he said.
"Gay people do not need this kind of bizarre protection from the police and it risks creating a homophobic backlash."
Mr Tatchell also called on Thames Valley Police to issue a full apology to Mr Brown and rescind charges against him.
The undergraduate had approached two mounted policemen in the city centre after leaving a bar where he had been drinking with friends. He was then handcuffed and taken to a police station where he was given a fixed penalty notice after spending the night in a cell.
"The whole thing is absolutely absurd," said Mr Brown. "There were about six police officers and a whole load of patrol cars. I will be speaking to a solicitor to see how I can overturn the ruling."
Well, was the horse gay?
*ping*
optional saddle club ping?
"Mr Tatchell, who has handcuffed himself to Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, in his campaign for homosexual rights..."
??
Gay Geldings and Donkey Apertures...
I also believe it was absurd, but really no one should be able to insult your horse.
Was the kid drunk or disorderly in any other way? Isn't it possible that the horse is in fact gay? It seems like a legitimate question.
Maybe he meant "gay" in an 1890's sense. Coulda just been a very happy-looking horse.
However, the people mentioned in this article would have no qualms about a straight person using the words "fag," "queer," or other such terms for homosexuals. It would be labeled a hate crime.
I'm thinking in the "that's so old fashioned and stupid" way.
My question exactly.
Also.. no, wait. I won't go into "also".
When even Peter Tatchell can see the ludicrousness of the police action here it says something...
I just can't wait for Dems to get back in power here, so we can have people arrested for saying, doing, or thinking anything some "gay" somewhere doesn't like. Maybe we could have, like, a National Speech Code?
Yeah! When did the homosexual "community" co opt and hijack the word "gay".
I think it was some time after a "fag" became TWO things I wouldn't want to smoke...
Gay horses are a major problem in England.
Where do you the expression "side saddle" comes from.
Just kidding folks.
The cop shoulod have just bludgeoned him with a nightstick rather than go through the trouble of arresting gay boy.
Mister Ed and Wibur refused to comment on this story.
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