news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/4606022.stm


'Gay' police horse case dropped

A student who called a mounted policeman's horse "gay" will not be prosecuted, it has been revealed.

But police have stood by their decision to take Sam Brown to court for making "homophobic comments" despite the Crown Prosecution Service dropping the case.

Mr Brown, 21, a student at Oxford University, had said to an officer: "Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?"

Police took the case to court after Mr Brown refused to pay a £80 fine.

Mr Brown, who made the comment during a night out with friends in Oxford after his final exams, was arrested under section 5 of the Public Order Act for making homophobic remarks.

Evidence lacking

His remarks were deemed likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The English Literature graduate, from Belfast, spent the night of 30 May last year in a police cell.

It emerged at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Thursday that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had chosen to discontinue the case.

Prosecutor Cariad Eveson-Webb said there was not enough evidence to prove Mr Brown had been disorderly.

Thames Valley Police defended their decision to take the case to court.

A spokesman said: "We present the case to the CPS and the CPS make the decision to proceed or not.

"He made homophobic comments that were deemed offensive to people passing by."

Homophobia is illegal in Britain?

Quoted: Homophobia is illegal in Britain?

No free speech

It's a crime to call a horse happy?

Wow! And somwhere Orwell is giggling....

"He made homophobic comments that were deemed offensive to people passing by."

Hell in a hand basket.  Meanwhile, someone was calling about her home having been burglarized and was told that the police were too busy handeling higher priority cases.





-K

orwell

or

robocop 2

Those silly Brits <-----a fairy

So will I become a target for MI-6 if I say that all Horses in the UK are gay?  

What's homophobic about it?

Would it be homophobic to tell someone who wasn't aware of the following fact: "Excuse me, did you know your roommate is gay?"

Now, it would be homophobic if he said something like, "Excuse me, did you know your horse is a pillow biting, rump reaming faggot filly?"  Regardless, in America, you can still say that I guess.

It's not the right thing to say, but if you want to say it, then more power to you, I guess...

regardless of what the bystanders felt.... how did it make the horse feel?



No Expert

Great use of police resources and court time. The po-po sure know how to tackle crime in this country.

Good thing he didn't say something really derogatory.

"Your horse is a dirty pole smoker"

NO....   WAIT......


"Is this the horse from Bareback Mountain?"

Quoted: Great use of police resources and court time. The po-po sure know how to tackle crime in this country.

Indeed.

If you have nothing better to do than to try and prosecute someone for calling a horse "gay" then you really should get back to work.

Quoted: regardless of what the bystanders felt.... how did it make the horse feel? No Expert

Very good point.  What troubles me is thtat it doesn't matter what the bystanders actually thought because they were deemed to be offended.  In other words, the State stepped in, decided that any bypassers were (for legal purposes) offended, and proceeded to charge someone with a crime.

I bet the bobby would have freaked out if he asked for a fag.

He offended the horse and it pressed charges

Well, is the horse gay?

This proves that Monty Python skits were not senseless silliness.

They were reflections of actual British society.