r/newfoundland • u/longobedience • 21h ago
High-profile legionnaire apologizes following profanity-laced outburst at Carbonear wedding reception | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/legion-wedding-outburst-9.7383382108
u/OnlyACsNoFans 21h ago edited 21h ago
"This incident has absolutely ruined my life," said Lawrence.
What a narcissistic piece of trash. Hope karma finds Mr. Lawrence
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u/SefirahCastleAcolyte 21h ago
Yet he absolutely deserves the ruin.
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u/ShortTrackBravo 21h ago
There’s a lot to be said about the Legion as a Veteran myself, a lot of negatives honestly, but that aside he’s just a complete idiot for doing this. I had my wedding reception at our legion and guests took beer outside for cigarettes and the bartender just kindly asked them or myself to reinforce the “you can’t do that guys”. Simple as that. No one fucking spazzed at the bride.
He clearly loves his title and thinks his Legion is like a personal bar. Thanks for your service Mr. Lawrence but you deserve all the flack you’re getting. At minimum the Legion should refund the bride.
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u/SexuaIRedditor 6h ago
The entire executive needs to be gutted imo. The president (or whatever his title is) saying that a member "shouldn't be made to suffer for a 45 to 60 seconds lapse" after assaulting multiple people is an indictment of the entire branch
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u/SuccessfulBug2353 21h ago
I've been around Mr. Lawrence a lot over the past couple decades. I wouldn't have described him as a humble man, but that is utterly bizarre behaviour from him. Jesus Christ.
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u/Gaultois 19h ago
Agreed. I've had some interactions with him in the past and was very surprised reading the article. People sometimes have bad days and make poor decisions when overcome with emotion. I would not defend his actions but people deserve a chance at redemption.
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u/MindAdriftwood 12h ago
Redemption online? I think not sir.
I've worked with guys like him. They act like children in those situations, but usually aren't bad people. But a good social kick in the pants once in a while doesnt hurt them. In a few weeks everyone will have this forgot and hopefully he will have learned to either pass off those duties to someone else, or calm down before he confronts someone. You can't be throwing tantrums if you're dealing with the public. He probably got burned in the past from people drinking outside and now he applies that same level of anger to everyone he sees breaking the rule without giving them a chance first. It's stupid behavior and hopefully he learned his lesson.
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u/Booziesmurf 11h ago
The article says "He said the branch has long struggled to stay within the rules of its licence." So they definitely have issues some how. Either drinking outside, fights, or underage drinking at events.
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u/mountainhymn 10h ago
They can give her money back and THEN he can start redeeming himself— redemption doesn’t work if you haven’t actually done anything to make things right (and no the apology doesn’t count)
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u/CoffeeCatsAndCurses 5h ago
Yeah, if he wants to redeem himself he will pay her the fee back himself. He should have said that in his apology letter, which should have arrived the day after the wedding. He also should have been in the office with her, making a verbal apology right then and there.
Honestly, my heart pumps purple piss for this guy.
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u/username__0000 8h ago
People wear masks, believe what you see when they drop.
His apology says a lot. It ended with “this incident has absolutely ruined MY life” and started with “all I can do is apologize”
That was his chance at redemption, he used it to try and make himself the victim.
He can do a lot more than apologize and try to victimize himself.
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u/SexuaIRedditor 6h ago
Exactly. But with the president of the branch backing him up and dismissing the complaint over a 45 to 60 second lapse I'm not holding my breath for dipshit to be accountable for much of anything
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u/username__0000 6h ago
People should stop donating and hosting events there.
The bride should bring him up on assault charges. He poked her in the face during his rant.
Maybe they’ll care when they can’t afford their boys club drinking hole and he needs to talk to an actual judge instead of his drinking buddies.
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u/longobedience 21h ago
I think the bare minimum requirement should have been an apology. The fact that the Legion’s executive decided not to offer a refund is beyond me. I’ve been around the Legion a lot in my professional life and I can that in terms of preserving the memories of veterans in our communities, they are second to none. But in terms of running banquet halls/bars/restaurants, they are often in over their heads.
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u/OnlyACsNoFans 21h ago
Sounds more like a crazy old man on a power trip. Not a legion issue.
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u/longobedience 21h ago
I would respectfully disagree. The crazy old man being the immediate past president of the entire Royal Canadian Legion and the executive members at RCL Branch 23 deciding to just offer an apology with no other recourse makes it squarely a Legion problem.
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u/Thismomenthere 19h ago
Yeah the apology won't be sincere. You deserve your money back with that apology.
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u/Gloomy-Recipe9213 21h ago
I don't even know what possesses someone to react that way. If the wedding guests were 100% in the wrong, take it up with the bartender, ask politely to speak to whoever's responsible for the wedding, call whoever's responsible for the facility rental. Under no circumstances should it cross anyone's mind to confront THE BRIDE at her own wedding reception, especially not like that!
He didn't just handle this wrong, he was so far off of the right way to handle it that it's inconceivable. I can't blame them for going public. That's galling.
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u/Patient_Kangaroo614 8h ago
He’s very lucky that he didn’t get punched for getting in the bride’s face during a wedding
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u/Extension-Plum-9616 5h ago
Yes, why didn't he alert the staff? They'd be the most logical people to turn to.
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u/Doctor_-_Cigarettes 20h ago
The current branch president reducing the incident to a 45-60 second lapse of judgement is laughable. 45 seconds is a lot of time to absolutely ruin the most special day in a person's life.
Honestly AT A MINIMUM, that Legion branch should be refunding them what they paid. Not just a paltry apology. While Legions are sometimes the social lifeblood of communities, they should know they wouldn't exist anymore if not for those communities.
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u/Booziesmurf 11h ago
Definitely "Boys will be Boys, we protect our own" kind of vibe. "Lapse of Judgement" was an excuse used by the Christian Brothers as well.
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u/Gloomy-Recipe9213 8h ago
A lot of crimes amount to “momentary lapses of judgment”. Unless youre an American swimming star like Brock Turner, you still pay the price for your “few seconds of action”.
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u/Booziesmurf 8h ago
Brock Allen Turner ?
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u/Gloomy-Recipe9213 7h ago
Yes, convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner!
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u/username__0000 6h ago
The rapist dropped the “Brock” and goes by “Allen Turner” now.
And also changed his appearance to long hair and facial hair so he looks less like all the photos of him after he raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.
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u/phosphite 19h ago
I’m no lawyer, but sounds like lawsuit for breach of contract, legal fees, and also pain and suffering. Should be an easy win, ruining a wedding day is a big deal. They need to learn a lesson. If they plan to rent out their venue then they are liable to fulfill their contract.
They could have had a penalty or fine system set up to penalize any parties that do not follow their rules (standard including damages, cleaning fees etc), instead they chose a…different path. I would definitely bring a lawsuit against them without hesitation.
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u/potato-chip 11h ago
Personally, I hope that OP pursues a court action. Like the comment above states, there is a risk of similar happenings to other folks who rent out the venue. This behavior should not be tolerated.
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u/Additional-Tale-1069 6h ago
I'm not sure that it's as clear cut a court case as you make it. Clearly the guy was an ass. However, it does sound sound like the wedding guests violated building rules. It was a bit unclear as to whether the Legion shut the reception down or if the party just deflated after the yelling fit.
I'm not sure there was a breach of contract, and if there was, it was possibly one on the side of the wedding party in violating the rules of the Legion's liquor license.
That being said, I'm also not convinced that the Legion did enough in response. I'm thinking the guy should have gotten some sort of a suspension at a minimum. I'd also think some sort of partial refunded is needed as a good will gesture. If they're smart, they'd do a full refund as the bad PR is going to cost them a bunch of money in lost bookings.
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u/Extension-Plum-9616 5h ago
Yes the wedding guests did wrong but if the bride and groom made some sort of an announcement about not going outside then they covered their butts. All buddy had to do was tell the staff people were outside and then the staff coukd have politely ask them to come back in. If the legion wants money from booking events they need to be more professional and this guy needs to understand that it's not his own private club. If it's a problem then the legion itself should have more signs, make it a mandatory announcement for anyone renting the facility and bar staff can inform people. There were much better ways to handle it.
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u/Additional-Tale-1069 3h ago
I'm not sure it does. If they tell everyone to treat the venue respectfully and then a couple of people get drunk, and get in a fight that breaks a bunch of stuff, its still going to be paid for from the couple's damage deposit.
If the guests get busted breaking the rules despite being told not to, its still on the people hosting the event.
I totally agree with you that the legion needed to do better. I also think they're far more in the wrong than the couple. However, they're not completely blameless.
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u/OnlyACsNoFans 4h ago
I've never been to a legion event where there weren't people smoking with a beer in hand
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u/Hairy_Concert9519 11h ago
Anyone who starts a comment with; “I’m no lawyer”, then continues to give legal advice, well, you see where I’m going.
I’d bet buttons to beach rocks, there was never a contract signed. No contract, no grounds for legal action. But then again, “I’m no lawyer”. 😜
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u/phosphite 6h ago
Normally I wouldn’t bother to reply to you. But you should know that we all should have a basic understanding of the Canadian legal system. I’ve taken a couple courses years ago so I know my rights and that there are protections. Some people don’t know this. This enables me to at least explore the possibility of a lawsuit to make things right where people have been wronged.
I’m not a mechanic either, but having a basic understanding of cars, engines, electrical systems enables me to know when and how something needs to be fixed, and not taken advantage of, saving me time and money.
If there is a contract (and there usually is something signed, or even a verbal one especially when thousands of dollars changes hands), there’s likely legal recourse to be explored if they feel wronged. And in the end it’s up to the courts to decide the outcome.
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u/username__0000 9h ago
“All I can do is apologize to everybody involved in the situation, to the bride, to the groom, to the people upstairs, to my Legion, to my wife. It's not the way I behave normally. This incident has absolutely ruined my life," said Lawrence.
No, there is a lot more you can do other than apologize with a statement where you try to make yourself the victim.
You can resign from the legion, pay the couple back out of YOUR pocket.
Make a donation to the legion as an apology and agree to never step foot in there again.
And quit drinking if that’s who you turn into after a few beers. I have a feeling your wife would appreciate that much more than this half assed apology.
And not say things like “this incident has absolutely ruined your life” - you made a choice and ruined what should be a special day for the couple with your boorish drunken behaviour.
I highly doubt this is the 1st time, people who escalate to that level have usually done it before and got away with it. And you making this about how it ruined YOUR life is telling. You’re not the victim here.
And the legion supporting this should make people reconsider where they donate their money.
You can support veterans without supporting spaces that not only allow this, but also describe someone who does that as their “number one at the legion, who will always be their number one”
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u/Additional-Tale-1069 6h ago
I think paying the couple back the rental fee out of pocket and getting treatment for his alcohol use is probably the most just outcome.
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u/justdjb55 13h ago
The father-in-law is a member of another branch and he acts the same exact way. They have no control over their behaviour and think that because they are veterans that they can do whatever they want and say whatever they want.
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u/MinuteElephant 7h ago edited 4h ago
As a current serving member with over 20 years in the Air Force who also spent a year overseas, this is a classic example of why the legion needs to die and why current members want nothing to do with it. It's still full of sexist drunks with no respect for women whatsoever, which is proven by branches that have asked serving female members to assist the "Ladies' Auxiliary" with food preparation. Guys like him from his era were responsible for a lot of the horrible crap women had to deal with as military members that's thankfully changing for the better. And they were and are the worst people to work for because they refuse to embrace change.
This guy is a pathetic coward who should have used the professionalism and ethics he undoubtedly learned in his time in the CF and dealt with it by either talking to the offenders outside politely or have the legion staff deal with it. Getting aggressive with a woman on her wedding day, or any day, is not acceptable. He deliberately targeted her and his behavior is proof of the increasing irrelevancy of the organization for serving members. And why I'll NEVER pay a nickel I.find on the street for the poppy I'm forced to wear 2 weeks a year.
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u/Successful-Gift8636 20h ago
Roses are red, make no exception
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u/butters_325 20h ago
One of the legion branches reached out to me the other year to make merch for them, I sent them the design and they never did pay me.
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u/SexuaIRedditor 6h ago
"Should not be made to suffer for 45 seconds to a minute of lapse"
Holy fucking shit. Forget the dipshit that ruined the wedding, the entire executive needs to be gutted if this is the kind of language they use to describe a member assaulting someone. I hope the Legion is brought to task on this, and having a public record of what went down is a good start.
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u/Extension-Plum-9616 5h ago
In this day and age, no legitimate organization should protect anyone because they are a 'good guy' when they clearly behaved in not a good or respectful manner. Yes they should have offered some form of a refund or partial refund. The person who yelled admitted he had 5 beers so he was publicly intoxicated and verbally attacked a stranger and customer of the legion. That's not good. He had no right to act as official of the legion that night and if he recognized an issue he should have gone to the staff and reported wedding guests outside. However, his judgment was impaired because he was drunk. I'd be sacred and then angry if some drunken stranger yelled at me anytime let alone my wedding. It was unprofessional and protectionist. I hope this poor lady recovers for this ordeal.
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u/Strong_Bumblebee5495 21h ago
This one is certainly going to win Terry that elusive Michener Award /s
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u/robertkenny 7h ago
He had a couple of beers what’s he doing drinking and acting in an official capacity. I wouldn’t let this go.
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u/AromaticLifeguard793 9h ago
old men are the worst.
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u/Ok_Insurance_3291 8h ago
*Disrespectful people of any age or gender are the worst. Fixed it for you
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u/nicenyeezy 5h ago edited 4h ago
She should take them to court and press charges for battery since he poked her nose and she has witnesses
That guy is a major asshole and deserves to suffer for his actions. This is another case of a boys club defending bad men in their ranks. They vow loyalty to eachother, not to the public.
They don’t care that this woman’s wedding was ruined, they don’t respect her or women in general and they are majorly power tripping. I hope this bride receives everything she lost back tenfold.
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u/Ill-Society-6759 1h ago
I don't want to support racism that's why I don't want my events any where near a RCL branch or conservative church. There are so many other venues around, maybe not in Newfoundland but in built up areas, that it's best to avoid.
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u/Comfortable_Two6943 8h ago
If the legion allows this without discipline, I have lost all respect for them..sadly.
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u/username__0000 6h ago
Not only do they allow it, he’s still “number one at the legion” from the quote at the bottom of the article.
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u/LongTrackBravo 53m ago
Not the first time he acted like that I bet, and the "apology"/Legion reaction seems to be more about himself than the couple
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u/CosmicCowboy89 8h ago
Meh maybe don’t rent out the place literally designed to give veterans a place to be veterans for your wedding night then be surprised the 33yr army vet went all army on you for breaking the rules…. Legions only exist so vets can have a place to be left alone, not so you can have a cheap hall for your reception… I booked my wedding reception at the zoo and now I’m pissed the chimps are throwing shit
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u/Extension-Plum-9616 5h ago
Yeah but the legion did choose to rent their place out, they advertise themselves as a venue for events like wedding receptions and the legion wanted and took these people's money. They are operating a business and there shouldn't be even be a slim chance that a random member would go off on a customer. If customers do break the rules then there's much better more professional ways to deal with it. Being army vets is zero excuse to be drunk and verbally abusive in public no matter who you are. If the legion can't deliver a service to people who booked their venue in good faith then they shouldn't offer it up for rental.
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u/ButterscotchBrave359 4h ago
If they want to be left alone then maybe they shouldn't rent the place out for weddings and the like. Then they can sit around and jerk each other off telling their best mostly fictional war stories
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u/baymenintown 11h ago
Imo all this comes down to our BS liquor laws. Imagine allowing someone to drink outside. 😱
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u/mountainhymn 10h ago
it actually comes down to an grown man not being able to control his emotions enough to not ruin an entire wedding reception
i agree the law is stupid but lets not just let him skate by like the legion would love cause the laws are dumb
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u/baymenintown 10h ago
It also comes down to a wedding guest drinking outside.
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u/MinuteElephant 7h ago
Which still did not warrant his behavior whatsoever. Time for him to quit drinking.
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u/Ryano2112 20h ago
Why did tax dollars go to make this article? Who cares.
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u/Unlucky_Yam6985 Newfoundlander 12h ago
Wdym? You can already see there's tons of engagement on it and its local news. Not every story in NL is going to be that exciting
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u/Ryano2112 12h ago
You think this is the first racket at a legion wedding? Move along
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u/username__0000 9h ago
If that’s the case, maybe they should do a whole expose on the issue.
Making people pay for an event space and people associated with the space ruining said event is something people should be aware of.
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u/baymenintown 10h ago
Tax dollars also go to the legion.
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u/Ryano2112 10h ago
Supporting veterans - giver.
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u/username__0000 9h ago
There are other ways you can support veterans that don’t involve encouraging spaces that allow this boorish behaviour.
In fact, if the news wants to do a whole expose on the problems with local legions - I’d bet there’s cases of sexism and discrimination against LBGTQ+ and younger members who went there looking for community that could relate to their experiences, but were shunned or made feel unwelcome by the “old boys club” that excuses the kind of behaviour displayed by Lawrence here and keeps a bride in an office for an hour on her wedding night.
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u/Newfieguy78 8h ago
Are you just assuming that's happened?
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u/username__0000 8h ago edited 6h ago
Nope, I’ve heard about it happening in Newfoundland.
But mostly second hand information, not from the people it was happening to. Which is why I said “I bet” rather than state it as a fact.
Edit: didn’t take long for a vet to speak up here about the issue.
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u/Ok_Insurance_3291 8h ago
Fake news right…
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u/Ryano2112 7h ago
Questioning their article is certainly not calling the CBC fake news. But hey, you do you.
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u/longobedience 21h ago
The bride’s post from Facebook detailing the event:
‼️‼️Please BEWARE if renting the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 23 in Carbonear for any events, specifically your wedding‼️‼️
‼️If you are the bride, you will be expected to be a bouncer and stand at the entrance to protect their liquor license and also keep uninvited guests from entering your wedding from events held downstairs as well.‼️
‼️EDITED: For those wondering(as I have seen a couple uncalled for comments), at the time this situation unfolded, my husband was in the washroom.
We have been quiet thus far to give the legion a chance to make things right, but unfortunately, I will not be staying quiet anymore after the decisions that were made at their executive meeting last night.
Myself and Justin got married October 3rd, 2026 and had the legion booked for our suppers and our reception/dance.
By 11:30pm, our night came to an abrupt ending. It was ruined when a “highly respected” member of the legion came screaming, swearing, and pointing over a matter i was not aware of at the time.
This member seen a guest outside with alcohol in their hand and began yelling at them. Then proceeded to yell “I am going to the bride and shutting this fucking place down.”
I was just about to do the bouquet toss when an unfamiliar man came charging towards me screaming, swearing and pointing his finger in my face (which may I add, at one point actually touched my face). He made comments such as:
“I will shut this fucking place down.” And at this point, I had no idea who this man was or why he was threatening to “shut this place down” as he didn’t explain what had happened and only screamed profanities at me.
My maid of honor then stepped in and politely asked him to calm down and stop pointing in my face, to which he responded with “I don’t give a fuck, I will point in whoever’s fucking face I want to.” Then began pointing in her face as well. It was only when my father in law and another member at the legion stepped in that this “man” backed off. He then left the building. The other member who stepped in explained that a person was outside with alcohol.
I was apologetic and explained to him that I was unaware of this. I also told him that announcements were made by our emcee for people to keep alcohol inside at all times, etc. But unfortunately, during events like this, this rule is not always followed/remembered by all which was out of my control at that time as I was not aware.
Due to this members aggressive behaviour and actions, our night came to an end as I was publicly humiliated infront of 80+ guests at my wedding. I did not get to do my bouquet toss as well as garter pull/toss, etc. These are moments we will never get back on what was supposed to be one of the most important and memorable nights of our lives. Instead, THIS is what we will remember when we look back at our wedding day.
I spoke with the president of the legion that same night in his office for an HOUR before I left, and he requested written letters of what occurred. Myself, along with 5 others who witnessed this attack wrote letters and passed them into him on October 5th. I was then made aware that their next meeting would be held on October 14th and this issue would be brought to the executive members attention at that time.
Myself, my husband and many others believed we should have been entitled to some type of reimbursement as we paid the legion thousands of dollars to only be disrespected. Our night ended at 1130pm at the hands of one of their members actions.
This morning, I received a call from the president to go over the “decisions” made at the meeting lastnight. It was agreed upon by all executive members that all we deserved is an apology from the member. Which I personally think is the absolute bare minimum. He said we will not be receiving any type of reimbursement, etc. And to my surprise, the executive members also did not believe that he should have received any disciplinary action within their branch either even though he went against the legions own rules. At the reception there was a sign on the wall stating “Disrespectful language will not be tolerated.”
I honestly hate to have to resort to this as the meal that was provided by the lovely kitchen staff was great BUT unfortunately that was the only good thing that came from renting the legion for our wedding.