Philadelphia Cab Driver Ejects Gay Couple For Kiss, Company Fined $500

A Philadelphia taxi company has to pay up for a cab driver who forced a gay couple out of the vehicle and peeled out because he was disgusted the couple exchanged a kiss on the forehead.

More than seven years ago in December 2009, Mark Seaman kissed his partner on the top of the head as the couple departed Philadelphia International Airport, the AP first reported. The driver noticed the brief kiss, told the two “you cannot do that in here,” before forcing them out of the car at the next taxi stand. Seaman says the driver was so angry that his car door was left open as he peeled off the curb.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Gee, what a nice welcome home to Philadelphia,” said Seaman.

Now just this past month -- and eight years later -- the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations ordered the PHL Taxi company to pay Seaman $500. The ruling also sets in place that taxi dispatch companies in Philadelphia are responsible for any discriminatory behavior from their drivers. PHL Taxi must now also educate their drivers on the repercussions for discrimination based on religion, race or any other factor.

Seaman, now 34 years old and living in Washington D.C.,, said he was “disappointed and perplexed” the incident took eight years to resolve. “And I’ve never been offered an explanation.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the driver is still certified in the city but not with PHL Taxi. The company did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.