On a day when Pope Francis is making headlines with his supportive

, the story of a same-sex couple who said they were

on Interstate 84 in Portland on Thursday is also drawing a lot of discussion online.

The specific words exchanged between the Broadway Cab driver and the couple -- Shanako M. Devoll, 33, and Kate Neal, 28 -- haven’t been detailed fully. But Neal

the driver said, “You can’t be gay in my cab.” KATU also had an

with the couple.

Devoll, who told The Oregonian that the pair were holding hands and kissed in the back seat, said the driver made homophobic remarks before they asked to be let out at a safe spot off the freeway. They said the driver then pulled over on I-84. The company said the driver has been suspended.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publications picking up the story and attracting comments included

,

,

and

.

Broadway Cab issued a statement

after the incident, and the post had 180 comments as of this morning. These included some responses from the company.

Raye Miles, Broadway's president, wrote, "

Thank you all for your comments, though I admit they are painful to hear. This is an issue that is near and dear to me and I am taking every comment to heart.

"

Oregonlive attracted a combined 645 comments on the story, including 284 comments on the

Friday and 361 comments on a follow-up on Saturday.

A good number of commenters have called on people to hold their fire until more facts come out. Many others have taken up a position in support of the passengers; in the words of

, for example, the couple’s treatment was “an act of hatred.”

You can get a quick glimpse of the discussion by checking out commenter

’s page on Oregonlive. Oprobity has been posting a lot of replies to other commenters.

A handful of commenters said that “such behavior” should not be permitted in public, or may even be illegal. Respondents have questioned how holding hands and kissing could be illegal.

called the driver “hotheaded” and in need of better training in how to handle such situations, adding that he should have taken the passengers to a safe location if he was offended by their behavior. But Cosmi adds, “Gays need to realize that not everyone is cool with their crossing other people's lines for sexual behavior, these girls were obviously a bit naieve.”

Which drew some unhappy responses.

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