2 cases of gay-bashing in Alberta...

This always makes me crazy....how people can resort to violence just because people are gay.

On Saturday, around 3 a.m., Robert Smith said he was leaving a convenience store holding his boyfriend's hand, when a group of men began verbally abusing them.

"We were holding hands, they reacted to us holding hands by calling us fags, and it escalated from there," Smith said.

Smith said about eight young men then swarmed the couple, punching them, knocking Smith's boyfriend Guy Cohoon to the ground and kicking him in the head.

"I immediately sort of laughed it off. They seemed quite small and even when they started pushing, I was still laughing it off," Cohoon said. "It wasn't until I was knocked down and kicked in the head that I realized I was in a very serious situation."

In an earlier attack, a group walking to a gay pride event were jumped by four men outside of city hall.

"It was pretty scary, actually, just to have someone actually chasing you and you just trying to stay calm and just be normal, not aggravate anything," said Ryan Mackenzie, 21. "It was just because of what I was wearing, a fur coat, and how I was walking."

One person in the group was punched in the face.