Skip to main contentRegardless of your opinion on the gay-marriage question, we can all agree that no one should be trying to etch their own beliefs into someone else's kids' minds without permission. Actually, check that--judging by the roguish deeds of a few Laidlaw employees, it seems there are some who disagree.
On the afternoon of March 9, Collin Slaughter sat in the front of the Laidlaw bus carting the 12-year-old home from West Sylvan Middle School. Portland Public Schools pays Laidlaw $10 million a year to handle two-thirds of the district's bus routes, and this is one of the longest, going from West Slope all the way to North Portland.
Amid the tumult, one child asked Laidlaw bus driver Frank Martin--who is also a minister--what the Bible says about gay marriage. According to Collin's father, Jeff Slaughter, who got the story from his distraught son later, Martin delivered a whole sermon.
"He said gays are sick in the head, they're all going to burn in hell, and went on and on," says Slaughter, the owner of a pet-grooming business. "Collin said, 'Wait, I know good gay people.' The bus driver said, 'Do you know where the word good comes from? It comes from God, and gay people don't come from God.'"
But the roguery didn't end there. When Slaughter called Laidlaw to complain, he says manager Stuart Hedge dismissed his concerns and gave him an earful of Leviticus to boot. Hedge later told WW he didn't remember the conversation.
Slaughter was shocked: "We don't teach our children hate," he said. He finally got some help from PPS transportation director Brian Winchester, who called the Laidlaw bosses and told them to can the Bible talk.
"I made it very clear to the contractor and his drivers that we're going to encourage kids to talk to a parent or guardian about it." Winchester says. "I'd be ticked, too."
WWeek 2015