Lesbian Couple Booted from Tim Hortons

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She put her arm around her lover’s waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Or…they were groping each other in ways they should save for the bedroom.

The difference between those two accounts—one by the lesbian couple, the other by the pastor who complained—have created a furor in Blenheim, Ontario, since the couple was kicked out of Tim Hortons in September. Protestors are planning a demonstration outside Tim Hortons across Canada, and the pastor and his church have been barraged with angry and threatening e-mails and phone calls.

The Pastor’s Story

Reverend Eric Revie is assistant pastor at the Pentecostal Glad Tidings Community Church. He was in Tim Hortons with a youth group and his four children in September. He saw a couple “with their tongues locked together and their hands down each other’s pants” and asked the manager to intervene.

The manager asked the couple, who were with family members, to leave “because the guests’ behaviour went beyond public displays of affection and was making other guests feel uncomfortable.”

The Couple’s Story

The couple, Riley Duckworth and Patricia Pattenden, told a quite different story. They were visiting with family members, when Pattenden put her arm around Duckworth and gave her a peck on the cheek. The manager told them to leave. They were humiliated and asked the Alphabet Community Centre, “a gay and transgendered group, to help them file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.”

The women’s complaint went up on Facebook. The story went viral, and plans were launched for a demonstration at Tim Hortons. The company issued a public apology and an assurance that Tim Hortons does not discriminate but did not contact the couple directly.

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Read more: lgbt bullying, lgbt rights, ontario, tim hortons

First photo from rfzappala via Flickr Creative Commons; second photo from baekken via Flickr Creative Commons

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Judith H.

3:10AM PST on Nov 25, 2011

I tend to believe the couple's account of what happened.

send a green star

Martha E.

11:06AM PST on Nov 15, 2011

I am very uncomfortable with overt displays of affection, be they hetero- or homo-sexual. That is for inside one's home. It sounds as if the lesbian couple went overboard, as per other witnesses, not just the minister. Everyone should have rights, and the right to be out in public without seeing undue displays of affection, is my right. Get a room.

Diane L.

11:50PM PST on Nov 7, 2011

Ummm, so let me get this straight, Glen P..........the fact pastors have lied (according to you), this one probably is. The fact gays and lesbians HAVE been discriminated means, this couple obviously is being shown discrimination. The fact they are lesbian means they can't lie? The fact they are lesbians means they are incapable of making a fuss over a situation they caused themselves? There are individuals in every group who can and do lie. Are you forgetting that the other customer besides the pastor who says he observed the inappropriate behavior is also "gay", and the pastor states he didn't know the couple were lesbians in the first place. He THOUGHT they were heterosexual.

Glen P.

9:12PM PST on Nov 7, 2011

Oops I voted No! Poor wording of question Care2. Use of negatives, such as 'in', can cause moments of confusion. (e.g. inappropriate).

Anyhow, I'm sure others have made that mistake, boosting the NO! responses.

I'm inclined to believe the lesbian couple.

I find it unlikely they would file a complaint if they had actually been behaving as the pastor described. And I find it highly plausible that a) The pastor WOULD lie about such things, they are often demonstrable liars, and b) if not lying, in his twisted religiously infected mind, that's what he sees when he sees any benign public display of affection by gay people.

Tom P.

11:37AM PST on Nov 7, 2011

Did the manager see any of the incident? Was it more than just affection?, lewd? I expect all to keep passionate contact above the waist regardless of orientation.

Janice S.

4:30PM PDT on Nov 3, 2011

Sounds like they need some other witnesses to come forward to determine if the couple was exhibiting lewd behavior or just affection. It depends on which actually happened to decide if the Tim Horton employee did the right thing or not.

Patrick F.

8:40AM PDT on Nov 1, 2011

*Ignoring you

1:55AM PDT on Nov 1, 2011

Patrick, I first commented on Oct. 27th, and it was not to you, personally, as your name was NOT included. If anyone is "lying", it's sure not me. It's all right there if you want to scroll down and actually read what was posted. I DID include your name in my comment on the 28th, and it was very civil. It certainly did not support a response of, "what area that be, the looney bin" thing. If anyone's in a "bitchy" mood, it's certainly not me, and I suggest you look in a mirror. Take your own advice.......READ comments made and react accordingly and stop with the personal attacks. Try to remain on topic. If you think you can call others names, insult them and use inflammatory phrases about where they live, their mental status, then be prepared to be given an appropriate response. You've violated Care.2's C.O.C. so many times, I'm amazed that you are still allowed to comment, period. I know many of your comments have been deleted, though, so that is some consolation.

10:59AM PDT on Oct 31, 2011

Diane L. Talk about twisting things around, you FIRST commented to ME on Oct. 28. None of my comments prior to that were to you.

"So, in my area, no such establishments, and I can't comment, but just curious, Patrick. If this is a retail establishment that sells donuts, coffee, etc., why would they allow someone to just "sit there" and not order anything?"

This was the first interaction between you and I, so quit lying and leave me out of your bitchy moods.

2:29AM PDT on Oct 31, 2011

"suggest that the whole family was going at it or "involved", as it was so tacitly put, is disparaging, and at the very least, counter-productive"......Thomas, you mis-read what was said. Another commntor said that "because" family members were there, unlikely any inappropriate behavior went on. I said that there was no relevancy, and nobody said whether said family members were involved, just "there", were kids, or whatever, and it never stopped some from doing inappropriate things.
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"a full-on prayer service is being held in a coffee shop,".............where did it say that? The pastor was there with a group of kids from his church. They weren't having a prayer service, but getting donuts or whatever.

Thomas, this isn't about religion, or even homosexuality, and several people are trying to digress it into those areas. It's been clearly stated that the shop does not discriminate against lesbians, gays, or any other group. The manager was ASKED to stop what was observed by another customer as being inappropriate behavior. That behavior was observed and substantiated by yet another customer. They were not asked to leave, they were asked to stop the inappropriate behavior. They CHOSE to leave and then make a huge fuss about it.
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