Bermudians Join 2012 London Pride Parade
Bermudians took part in the 2012 London Pride March yesterday [July 7], joining thousands of people who descended on London for the march despite some heavy rain showers.
Bermudian Chen Foley said: “It is good that legislative change appears to be back on the agenda but it is disappointing that steps have still yet to be taken to introduce a bill.
“If the government is as serious about extending human rights protection as Minister Glenn Blakeney suggests, one would have expected it to demonstrate leadership, and to have acted far more quickly and decisively.”
Bermudians in London joined the other marchers to highlight the fact that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is still unprotected under Bermuda’s Human Rights Act, something which MPs are due to debate soon.
Campaigner Benedict Greening, who marched along with other Bermudians, said: “Because of the austerity and the cutbacks in the usual Pride celebrations, there weren’t any mopeds allowed in our float this year.
“But we still brought the same amount of passion for a positive change in the law in Bermuda. This change would be such a powerful act for so many Bermudians who currently feel shut out.
“It would also be a signal for all Bermudians and for the world that our island values civil rights for everyone; that we’re a modern, progressive country.”
“The march had a real grassroots feel. Groups came together from countries all over the world to speak out against discrimination and persecution. The weather was patchy. At one point the heavens opened. By the end, however, the sun was shining,” said a spokesperson for the group.
Organisers said around 25,000 people took part in the march, while crowds also filled Trafalgar Square for performances by acts including Boy George.
The British government showed its support for the event by hoisting the rainbow flag symbolising gay pride over one of its ministries for the first time on Friday.
The London Pride Parade has been an annual event for 40 years, and in in recent years Bermudians have formed a group to participate in the event. In 2011 Mark “Sybil.Barrington” Anderson lead the Bermuda contingent in the parade, and in 2010 the group rode scooters through the streets of London wearing Bermuda shorts.
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- Bermuda Contingent To Attend 2014 WorldPride | Bernews.com | June 9, 2014
Nothing progressive about the PLP we are going backwards! Cant even legislate protection for our own a shame!
When you have a PLP Senator publicly admit their refusal to rent property to gay people it should come as no surprise the Government is resistant to engage in any legislative process to extend HR protection to all. The irony is both sad and bassackwards in the 21st century.
She’s no longer a senator, and she can refuse if she wants to. As a landlord you set the rules as to who you want to rent to. If she felt their behaviour was immoral or went against her religious beliefs, then she has the right to refuse to rent to them. It may seem unfair, but when you own a home the ball is in your court. That’s just the way it is…
That is true, @ Mayan. If you live on your property and it is, I believe 3 units or less, you can refuse to rent to whoever, black, white, gay, blind, old, whatever.
However, the fact that the lady was a senator at the time she made the statement is a telling one. I can personally have any prejudice I choose, but as a Member of Government, I should be expected to toe the party line. As the lady in question is a staunch party member, can one assume that she is echoing the party stance?
If that is the case, can one assume that equal rights for all is not really a part of that party’s platform?
If that is the case, Liberia once again comes to mind (for those who don’t know, Liberia-which ironically means “freedom”- was colonized by a group of black Americans who went back to Africa to escape slavery and then made second class citizens of the native African population).
So using this same logic an employer is free to deny employment to whomever they want because they are Christian or choose to eat pork or associate with unions?
Renting a private residence is different from employment. Fail.
How?
Good work, it really is time Bermuda caught up with the rest of the civilised world, and PLEASE no passages from The Bible…its a made up book of silly stories.
@Tru date… But just imagine that they would bring a take note paper to the house instead of being bold and bring a Bill with the intentions of changing the law. No, they are wishing and hoping some one anyone will give them a pass by brining a Private Members Bill and eveyone vote their conscience… But this is simply a Human Rights Matter. Now let is wait and see who is conveniently missing from the house… It is very, sad!!!
Last time I checked nobody cares about or bothers gay people they just avoid them! What are they marching for, why not just open a gay 24 hour nightclub and keep this stuff out of the news.
Ohhhhh this should be an interesitng comment section and it has started already.
Football – that is one of the most ignorant statements. Let me educate you but for one minute. I’m assuming that you drive a car or ride a moped in Bermuda, or maybe even catch public transportation such as a bus or ferry? What about clothes, shoes, electronics, etc…that you enjoy purchasing? Do you like to travel and stay in nice hotels? Who do you think some of the smartest and most creative people are who make the these products and services you buy and use everyday? I’ll give you one answer..gay men and women. It’s a shame that people like yourself shoot down the very group of people that make your life easier.
@US Observer: That is complete and utter hogwash. Give me some proof in the form of statistics concerning that claim. Gay people can be creative, but not all of them are and most of them are not responsible for the things you mention. Many designers are gay but just as many aren’t. What about the female designers out there-are they gay, too? Gays may design clothing and shoes, but electronics? Give me a break! Do you think we’re stupid over here or something?
I didn’t watch it all and just sort of skimmed through. I’d say that the parade was dignified for the most part, until you got to 17:49 and see the guy with the sign (or shirt) that says ‘Sorry girls I suck d**cks.” It’s that kind of debauchery that turns straight people off. You don’t see women-who are the ones who normally do that-going around advertising the fact. I’d assume most women do it to keep their men happy and not because they particularly get any great pleasure out of it, but gay men clearly do. When a straight person sees that, it’s really distasteful…so is seeing men in women’s clothing flaunting themselves all over the place.
Humans have sex to procreate and ensure the continuation of the species. Yes, it’s pleasurable but that’s just the incentive for us to do it. Gays cannot procreate no matter how hard they try and cannot have children without medical intervention or the assistance of a willing member of the opposite sex (surrogate mother or sperm donor). So to a straight person, it’s just ingrained in us to see gays as a threat to the human race. You may not consciously hate gays or want to hurt them, but this is just an ingrained part of who we as straight people are, a biological thing that can’t be helped just like gays claim they can’t help being gay. So they should respect how we feel if they expect us to respect how they feel.
They can do whatever they want behind closed doors but I don’t want to see any of that stuff. Gays resent straight people for thinking that they can be made straight by saying it’s against their nature. Yet asking us to accept the gay lifestyle is equally against OUR nature, and gays should accept that…if not they are hypocrites.
@A.D.:
The majority of sexual encounters in todays developed nations are in fact not for the purpose of procreation, rather they serve as a physical connection between two or more parties with the intention of giving each other pleasure.With this in mind Gay men shouldn’t be scrutinized for their sexual practices because it is proven that a—- intercourse is pleasurable for men because it applies pressure to the prostate glad with causes the release of impulses through the body similar to those achieved through ejaculation.
I however can not figure out why you see gay people as a threat. If we all relied on primal instincts like what you are describing developed countries like Bermuda would not exist. Not only that your comment does not seem to make sense. If homosexuals can not procreate, how are they a threat to the human race? My friend group consists of heterosexuals, homosexuals and just about everything in between and I can tell you that it is not human nature to be unnaccepting.
Alan Turing, considered the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, was gay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
You found one person (who was recently featured a boatload of articles on BBC, CNN and MSNBC), good for you.
Here’s a list of a few “homosexual” men that arguable changed the course of history and played a hand in the way our world was shaped.
1. Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC), popularly known as Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great commanded his first battles while only sixteen years old and went on to conquer the entire known world.
The concept of homosexuality did not exist in Ancient Greece. Men in Ancient Greece had lovers of either gender and Alexander wasn’t an exception.
2. Socrates
Socrates (469–399 BC) was a Classical Greekphilosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known only through the classical accounts of his students.
Homosexuality was an important part of a boy’s education. It naturally makes his famous students Plato and Aristotle gay. Homosexuality was also used in the military to boost morale and a fighting spirit.
3. Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum (2400 B.C) were ancient Egyptian royal servants and are believed to be the first recorded same-sex couple in history.
They were found buried together embracing and holding hands in a tomb of the pyramid of King Unas.
They were close to the king, shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists. These male “royal confidants” were depicted in artwork embracing and touching noses, the most intimate pose allowable in Egyptian funeral art.
4. King David of Israel
David (1040–970 BC) was the second king of the unitedKingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible.
After David defeated Goliath, according to the Bible, Jonathan already “loved him as his own soul.” He even made covenant with David and stripped himself and gave his robe, armor, sword, bow and bely to David. After Jonathan learned of his father’s plan to kill David, he went to David and they kissed each other. When Jonathan died, David even stated at his funeral that the love he and Jonathan shared was greater than what he had with women.
5. Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (37 – 68 AD) was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Nero was the first Roman emperor to have married a man. He has married two other men on different occasions. Nero “married a man named Sporus in a very public ceremony… with all the solemnities of matrimony, and lived with him as his spouse” A friend gave the “bride” away “as required by law.” . The marriage was celebrated separately in both Greece and Rome in extravagant public ceremonies.
6. Hadrian
Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76 –138 AD) was the fourteenth emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as aStoic and Epicurean philosopher.
The story of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his young lover Antinous is like great epic film with power, romance, glory, beauty, tragedy, and love.
Hadrian unofficially took the throne in 117 AD, having been unceremoniously married to a 13-year-old girl decades earlier for political purposes. The much younger Antinous entered the emperor’s circle around 123 and by 128 was accompanying Hadrian as his closest confidant.
7. Richard the Lion Hearted of England
Richard I (1157 – 1199 AD) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death in 1199. He was known as Cœur de Lion, or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. In striking contrast with his father and King John his brother, he was a homosexual.
Richard’s unconventional sexual habits did not negate his primary duty as king: to marry and sire a male heir.
8. Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 – 1519 AD), was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor,architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer.
When Leonardo da Vinci was 24 years old, he was arrested on the charge of sodomy. He was constantly surrounded by beautiful men and raised several young protégés.
His sketches and writings indicate that he was indeed attracted to males.
9. Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga (1534 –1582 AD) was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the rule of the Shogun in the late Sixteenth Century.
Oda Nobunaga’s relationship with Mori Ranmaru is probably the most famous history of male-male relationships.
Mori Ranmaru had served him faithfully for many years and died with Nobunaga when he was still in his teens at the time.
Ranmaru’s loyalty and devotion to his lord were widely known and praised during the Edo period.
10. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (1809 –1865 AD) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.
Lincoln’s problematic and distant relationship with women stood in contrast to his more warm relations with a number of men in his life and that two of those relationships had arguable homosexual overtones.
Lincoln’s letters to Joshua Speed before and after Speed’s wedding in 1842 are as fretful as those of a general before a dubious engagement. Several of them are signed ”Yours forever.”
And there is a lot more if you are interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gay,_lesbian_or_bisexual_people
Football – they are marching for the same rights and privileges you also enjoy. Have you ever had to stand up for anything living in Bermuda? I recommend you do a little reading and gain some knowledge of the world outside of the 21 sq miles you apparently have been confined to.
@US observer…i totally agree with football and fyi this is a bdian website and views and opinions are mostly from locals and not overseas bloggers like yourself. He didn’t say anything against gays he simply said that this isn’t news which I agree with. No one bothers the gays…they do them and we do us (since you wana segregate. Furthermore your comments are so stupid to suggest that gays are the only designers or basically run the world according to you. Stop sniffin that white stuff and come back down off of your cloud mate…your missing out on a nice world. Narnia needs to let you go lol
What ignorant xenophobia.
Why was the reply an example of “ignorant xenophobia”?
Regardless of what anyone’s feelings are towards outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, it is pretty difficult to take the PLP seriously when they have done nothing about this. They claim to be a party who fights for equality, but they obviously aren’t.
Its funny how society only use what they wanna use from the bible.
If an mon go lay down with anotha mon how he baby born.? freaky mentality. Cause that’s all it is.
ya, whattabout all dem guys who lay down wit de women and ignore their babies ?
U know , like de real reason we have so many social problems in Bermy .
Ah I get it, the old patois homophobia. Pathetic, really it is. Wake up, its 2012, babies are made in test tubes too! – I wonder how you will be when your son announces he is gay!
Wa if ya daddy was gay. U won’t be here.
LOL!!! @Kartel, you are not a very bright man huh? Or are you just to blind to see? So a gay man can’t have children? Do you know how many men that have been married and have kids are now with a man? I am a gay father of two. I was married for 8 years, I have been with a man for 6 years now. (Go run with that) It is so many of use in BDA. I know dozens of gay/bi fathers, some are on the Down Low, and some are proud gay men. You may not know they are gay/bi, because most don’t carry them selves in a feminine manor. And majority of them are conservative like myself.
Who the hell wants to know he/she came into the world created in a test tube? There’s studies going on now that show these babies-who are now growing up-have mental/emotional health issues because of this. Babies are not meant to be conceived that way and no-one can tell me differently. It’s unnatural. Most of these gays were conceived naturally, were they not? Yet they see nothing about conceiving a child in a freaking test tube?
Thank God I was conceived because my parents loved each other. My kids were conceived naturally and out of love as well. All these unnatural methods of conceiving kids is going to blow up in our faces some day…
Seriously mate, you’ve got problems. Just let them get on with it, just live your live and let them lead theirs. Do you like people calling you a n#$ger or whi#ey, or fatty or baldy? Of course you don’t – why is this any different, you don’t have to start watching The Wizard of Oz or listening to Elton John, but have some tolerance, or in other words, stop being such a backward small-island hick and act like its 2012.
I’m so sick of people like Formidable Deviant insulting Bermudians whenever we have an opinion they don’t like. PLENTY of Americans and people all over the world feel the exact same way about this issue. Have you ever heard of a gay person being killed just for being gay here? NO. How about teenagers killing themselves over being gay? NO. Yet these issues come up in the U.S. ALL THE TIME-especially the suicide issue. So who are you to point fingers? Plenty of Americans make gay people’s lives miserable. In Bermuda, we may not accept it, but at least we leave gay people alone to live their lives in peace.
The only time you’d see a gay guy get roughed up is if he makes the mistake of hitting on a straight guy. Other than that, they get left alone. So why don’t you fix the issues in your own country…do something to prevent all those kids who kill themselves each day in the U.S. rather than come out of the closet, or due to the way they’re treated in American society before you tell us how to fix our problems, o.k.???
BTW-in case you don’t know and before you make that mistake, if you call someone the ‘n’ word here, you’ll get yourself arrested…so if someone is stupid enough to do that, well…
@ Mayan: Actually you are wrong here. * A gay man, was murdered several years back just for being gay. There are several gay people who have been called names, refused service in a restaurant, or attacked just for being gay and innocently minding their own business. The young man who killed himself * was reportedly gay, and he was not the first.
The reasons you don’t hear about it are, firstly, because this is such a homophobic society, being openly gay and reporting harassment or harm is very frightening; secondly, because gay bashing and discrimination are not against the law, there is no agency to report such things to. The Human Rights Commission cannot act because no crime has been committed. In fact, the HRC can only act when the Minister deems it necessary or appropriate to act, even now! Now THAT is something that REALLY needs to change as well, because not every Minister is unbiased.
I don’t think anyone is insulting you for being a Bermudian, just your views – which stink. And yes there is something backward and hick about Bermuda when it comes to gay rights – that my dear, is the law. And some of the people clearly. I hope you don’t teach your kids this.
I hope you don’t procreate FTFY
I’m Bermudian, and it makes me sick that people like you make up a majority of this islands population.
who said gays couldn’t adopt a child? either way a family can be made no matter the sexuality of the person. stop being narrow minded
Demma get too bright. So me [edited] b#tti mon n Sodomite.
Not every woman can have children either so what are you trying to say ?? Ever heard of population control? I have a inkling you won’t understand.
The Jamaican slang mentality comments and the bible comments are always amusing. Any man who protests so much against homosexuality like people like you.. are most likely engaging in it himself.
I’d stay far away from a man who would say things like you do and call someone a “batti mon” and want to go so far as to murder homosexuals. REAL straight men could care less what gay people do. Your mentality is freaky and toxic.
Hell people , Dr.Stubbs set you lot up a long time ago . What is it that you’re wanting now ? Sybil and her friends were having a wonderful time on a straight cruise the other day , no one bother them and , a good time was had by all .
OG..you missed the point and I said “some” not all in suggesting that gays are the only designers, etc…so there is no segregation in my statement.
“No one bothers the gays?” Gay people are not aliens or second/third class citizens and should be treated as such, not based on who they choose to be with or love or how they choose to live “their life.” People make a choice and if they want to be gay, they have every right to be gay. You have a right to be who you are, right?
Don’t think for one moment that the Bermuda community is immune or counted out as far as “being gay” is concerned. Look all around you…and make sure both eyes are open and tell me what you see? And I am saying all of this politely and with respect to you.
For the record, I am a born Bermudian.
Like some people have said, it’s the lifestyle of a lot of gays that people have a problem with. Personally, if they’re decent people in a committed relationship then fine. It’s the ones you see engaging in all kinds of promiscuous, disgusting behaviours that most people have a problem with. This gay parade wasn’t so bad but look at the ones they have in places like New York. No-one can say that those people aren’t exhibiting immoral behaviour. It’s disgusting, a lot of it.
Bermuda needs to keep things the way they are so we aren’t subjected to that kind of stuff. If you give an inch then what? I don’t want to see that kind of stuff and I have the right not to have my kids subjected to it. Most gays are treated well here, they aren’t being fired from jobs over being gay or kicked out of their homes. What more do they want? Straight people don’t get everything we want in life, either. You have people who believe they have the right to have ten wives if they want…so what are we going to do-give them what they want, too? We don’t always get what we want in life so stop whining…
“It’s the ones you see engaging in all kinds of promiscuous, disgusting behaviours that most people have a problem with.”
Which “ones” are you referring to in Bermuda?
How about certain women who have multiple concurrent sex partners or mothers with three or more children from three or more different fathers?
Goodness Mayan, you sound like my Grandma. Go back to 1950 will you, attitudes like yours not welcome in 2012!
And my point still stands…nothing has happened. There are no incidents surrounding this march (in bda)and therefore it simply isn’t news at this particular time. News is crime, education and employment (90% anyways). Being gay in bda isn’t like being a jew in germany under hilter now is it?? They can vote, work and do everything else besides marry. What’s all the fuss about??
”They can vote, work and do everything else besides marry. What’s all the fuss about ??”
From what I can tell they simply want to ensure that they can’t loose their job (or be denied employment) or loose their housing (or be denied housing) if their sexual orientation should be found out. Simple as that .
Not asking for too much IMO , as you probably already enjoy those rights and take them for granted. Try walking a mile in the other person’s shoes.
When did some of these haters choose to be straight ? If a so called real straight man is comfortable with his sexual orientation and likes women then he has no fear of anyone else that is different? That’s where the issue is most of them aint sure in Bermuda some people are so in the closet and afraid of their SO that they run around calling them selves BI or DL ,anyone apart from a Jamaiacan that goes about pretending to speak and act Jamaican has more than a sexual identitidy crisis and should stay off the weed and go listen to some of pop star Bobs music and stay in the haze
yah man!
@Tru Dat, He needs to go back JA with his Patwa. Lol, And Jamaica has more gays than half of the Bermuda population. But they are so deep in the closet, most gun men that kill gays down JA. Kill them because they have slept with them, and are prob afraid someone will find out, or they gay has ran their mouth to a friend..
Who controls Bermuda.
Front Street?
No.
Jamaica?
Yah betcha.
You have to know the history of some.
I need a joint.
Ay yo world is f$#@in crazy. Children killin children, women sleeping with women, men sleeping with man. N ppl defending it. Would Neva let no homo be my child’s school teacher, baby sitter or nothin. Mon to mon, gyal to gyal dat wrong.!!
LOL!!! How you know your father isn’t a bisexual closet freak?? LOL!!!
Hery Kartel stop fighting it and just accept that you are gay ok? We can all tell. Why are typing like you dropped out of the p5? Read a book instead of being a self hater, we all know you like men.
And Bermudians trying to be Jamaican….now that’s the worst…
What astounds me is how many Bermudians, who fight for equality based upon the colour of their skin, are happy to say that gay men and women don’t deserve equal rights too. 100 years ago, it was perfectly acceptable to say the sort of things “Football” said above about black people; now, it’s a crime as it should be. What gay people are fighting for is to not be persecuted for being gay in the same way that people shouldn’t be persecuted for their religious views, colour of skin or whatever else might make us a little different than the person sitting next to us.
Well said and in general I will agree with equal rights for gay people. But I just have the feeling that this is “one step” in the door for more progressive gay rights. Such as the right to marry and the like as is in progress in the US. This I see as something I would never want to see here in Bermuda.
As a straight man I can live with gay people doing what they want in their own private moments, but DO NOT expect or try to convince me to accept this unnatural behavior into the world I live in. I don’t fully know ALL my feelings towards the push for gay rights, I have limitations as stated above. Clearly I have more thinking to do on the subject but at the same time I don’t really want to HAVE to think about it. Why must I change/think when my sexual actions are NORMAL and NATURAL?
Off to think some more…..
Skin colour and an immoral act are two different things.
Heterosexuals do things that can be deemed “immoral” as well. So?? Are you or any of the other bigots God? No.
Why must we always compare to Heterosexuals? Yes, Heterosexuals do immoral things as well and we should not condone those acts either. I made the comment because the person above is comparing immorality to the colour of skin a person is born with. I mean, why people get so aggressive and defensive. This is the problem with everything in our society. We can’t simply have an open conversation without someone having to reply with name callings and immature responses.
No need to call people bigots if you don’t fully understand where they’re coming from.
But you are a bigot and you aren’t God so leave him to judge gay people and tell them what they do is immoral. You are entitled to your opinion, it’s not name calling. That person did have a somewhat of a point.
It’s 2012, Bermuda needs to wake up! I’m 28 years old, I have a daughter age 5. I have seen a growing numbers young gays in Bermy. Majority are females from 16-30 years old, very few males are open about it. Most of the guys are taking **** or giving it and still have girlfriends.(Not Nice) I have been into guys for as long as I can imagine, I slept with females from age 15 till about 2 years ago. I am now seeing a guy, I know what I want. (I am not confused at all) I have never cheated on any female for a male. (Cowardly act)
I’m certain their are gays in every family, workplace, church, and school. (Young to Old)
We are all human!
It’s about time we have equal rights!
I also hope that you told the females you were with that you were also going with men. That’s another thing I can’t stand-how many bi-sexual men or gay men on the ‘down-low’ have slept with women and not told them their history of being with men also. Women have a right to know this, and then decide if they want to risk their health (mental and physical)in being with you.
There’s a difference between not cheating and not telling the whole truth about your lifestyle.
So when a man/woman meets someone new, by your logic, they should tell the other person their whole sexual history? Do you tell new people or did you tell your husband/wife about every person you slept with?
I think this is an inaccurate representation of Bermuda’s gay community. Most of the people that attend this event are Bermudians that do not permanently reside on the island. They therefore do not experience the same hardships as local homosexuals(who are stuck here – like myself) do.
I appreciate that they are bringing the governments attention to the issue, but it’s a shame these people cannot organize/partake in the same kind of event located on the island.
@ Deceiving – I think you will find that they do represent Bermuda’s gay community. They for the most part have experienced the same hardships that you talk about locally and have decided they don’t want to live in a place with those kinds of attitudes. They have made the difficult choice to leave their own homeland and relocate to a country that is more tolerant of gay people.
ALL those gay and CLOSET CASES in government you’d think they’d protect their own and finally put something into law about discrimination in Bermuda.
All of you ranting your religious or hate filled rants are missing the point. They aren’t even at the marriage for gays stage and this isn’t what it’s about, they just want legal rights should they be discriminated against just because they are gay.
Despite what is probably some of Bermudas best ignorance shown here, we are all HUMAN so they deserve their HUMAN RIGHTS.
I agree. Also, I find it ironic that one can be hateful as long as it’s termed ‘religious’. We can (and do) have an unequal society where other humans can be legally treated differently because many support an interpretation of the Bible that supports that view…oh the irony.
Just don’t bother me with that gayness
No worries you probably already have/have had some gayness in you.
There seems to be a lot of talk about about sex which is sadly where this conversation always seems to end up. I believe that regardless of sexual orientation or preference what happens in the bedroom should stay there.
Most homosexuals are not looking for everyone in the world to understand their lifestyle or their sexual preferences, rather they are looking for the same courtesies that have been extended to every other group in society in the form of basic human rights. They want to know that they are protected by the law and feel safe within their community.
Burn in hell u [edited]
I get discriminated against every day for smoking weed cnt get jobs at certain establishment ,unable to mingle with certain type,s because they believe the proper gander that was introduced by the USA spin doctors threw there proper gander mill . Are gays hurting people… no are weed smokers hurting people no…!!!! Now I don’t condone the gay lifestyle but I don’t feel they should be discriminated against segregated form society , or incarcerated ! Like us that smoke marijuana
!!! Us weed smokers are tired of being treated like second class citizens, were not just from back of town no more were island wide/ world wide! Were your dads , mothers uncle,s aunt,s brothers sisters, cusions an were tired of jail and embarrassment !!!! Please take your grip of off us !!! FROM BERMUDA,S CRYING HEARTS…… One love!!!!!
Since when is being gay a right..!!!! I thought we were just all human..
I think that gay rights have come a long way already in Bermuda & I’m not sure if it’s really accurate that many gays here can’t get a job or find a place to live because of their lifestyle. If this is true then I think yes this needs to be fixed but at the moment I know many gays here who have a job & a place to live without any problems. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t put it passed some landlords & employers since I know its a fact that there are many employers who don’t want to give jobs to Bermudians & there are landlords who won’t rent to Bermudians. Since Bermudians already face discrimination issues in their own country for being Bermudian without government remedying it then its will be very tough for gays fight for these rights as its a very easy thing to cover up with false excuses. There is no easy way forward in fighting a covered up issue but a start would be a new more liberal government that’s really for the people in Bermuda which plp blatantly are not.
The more pressing issue is how this affects tourism here. Many gay tourist come here because they feel more welcome than in other openly homophobic islands like Jamaica where gays must hide themselves in gay friendly resorts like hedonism. If we don’t want to lose these visitors we need to tread carefully on this subject & keep religion out of it & look at it without bias. Recently I saw two female tourist french kiss while I stood in a line at harbor night with my kids. To my surprise my kids did not react unlike some other Bermudian kids in the line who giggled or eeewed. I put this experience down to the reason being that I’ve never taught my children prejudice while others have taught theirs. People who teach their children this need to open their minds to the fact that their children when grown may want to work in a country that is more open minded & a reaction like that could get them fired or sued. Reactions like this will also push away the tourist we desperately need to help our crumbling economy while islands like ibiza will take the profits we could have. If someone sees a person with a mutated growth on their face they are told not too stare but not to be rude & obvious about their emotions so why is it people feel that its okay to react in disrespect at gays? If you don’t agree with it but it doesn’t negatively affect you or anyone else than ignore it.
As for those spouting off about moral beliefs they have taking from the Bible there is NO WHERE in the Bible that directly mentions gays. Yes people may reference the sodom & gomorrah but their is no exact proof of the meaning of the sins the people in this story are guilty of since no explanation is given. Many just mold this story to their own liking. On the other hand there are direct references in the Bible of contraception of any kind, divorce, baring false witness & worshiping anything material before God being immoral & sinful. How many Bermudians are guilty of these things & others not mentioned but are still considered good God fearing people. Nevertheless there is also the part in the Bible that says to the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. So before casting stones we all must realize even in the good book its simply about treating one another the way all would like to be treated regardless of there sexual preference. What would Jesus do?
So true I think we needs rites 2 b st8 nw lol
Uhh ok…apparently Adolf Hitter was gay, suggesting that gay people are more creative or smarter is like saying that everyone who smokes weed is a mindless idiot. They’re just people, different people…very different, but they’re still people and we’re all different in some weird way or another but our minds can’t seem to comprehend this since majority of humans think society should look and act a certain way, we’re basically programmed to believe that anything different is bad or dangerous. Bill Gates is a genius and is married, not that it means much these days. Hate to break it to you all, but even the spartans used their women for babies and their men for pleasure. I can’t believe I’m writing this since I’m completely against the lifestyle, but I don’t know why, other than I’m not into it and its what I was brought up to believe. I’ve learned through the years a lot of what I was taught and brought up on wasn’t right. Every human deserves rights, that’s right, simple as that.
That was @ mussel pie
Devil has all u homos hypnotised.
its the Illuminati in music.
Ppl on here makin it seem like gay is the way. It’s not. Let’s be real. It’s jus a f#$@ed up reality.
Lets have a str8 parade through town.
I am appalled by the prejudice comments plastered on this comments section. This is the type of thing that makes me ashamed to call myself a Bermudian.
Who gave any of us the right to judge a group of people? Who gave any of us the right to judge whether one group of people deserves more rights then another? Who gave us the right to vote on whether one group of people is allowed to marry?
People can speak all they want about their religious beliefs, but the institution of religion and the governmental system do not go hand in hand. Churches don’t allow gay marriage be happy with that – the government should allow it. People can go on and on until the end of time how being gay is wrong in the churches eye and therefore this topic of protection under the human rights act and gay marriage should be shelved, but i say that the act of fornication is wrong in the churches eye, the act of having babies out of wedlock is wrong in the churches eye, the list is endless. So the same people using the bible as a reason are the same people committing all these other religious offenses – so don’t pick and choose which religious laws you are going to abide by if your going to preach to anyone.
You can also look at it this way – the only reason being gay is wrong in the Christian church is because the act of sex needs to be for love and child bearing. Being gay is not the part that is frowned upon – its that you cannot have children whilst participating in gay sex. However throughout history the natural world has provided for itself through population control, etc. Gay couples are the perfect people to be able to marry and adopt because they cannot have their own children. All these straight people committing “sins” if we are talking religion here – abusing their ability to procreate and leaving children loveless and without families. Nature is providing the perfect families for them in gay committed relationships.
I have also noticed comments from people about gays needing to keep it behind closed doors, etc. My question is when was the last time any of you had gay people participate in crude behavior in front of you? I say if straight people can hold hands in public so can gay people. If straight people can share a quick kiss in public so can gay people. When was the last time you saw gay people do anything more in front of you – straight or gay i believe any public displays of affection should be minimal… And lets be honest straight people are the biggest culprits on this island of crude inappropriate sexual behavior in public – esp when drunk in town.
It is also appalling that people on this island fight so hard for equality among races, but do not see the value in equality across sexual orientations. The same people who yell victim when it comes to racial prejudices should be the same people agreeing with the LGBTQ communities right to be protected, because they should understand the feeling of being oppressed if you will. If someone said to you that you could not get married because you are white or black , or you couldn’t be protected by the human rights act because you are white or black we would then have problems, why is this any different.
This is hatred in its purest form – hatred is taught, this generation needs to stand up and say hey this is an injustice – you cant go through life blindly and mindlessly agreeing with older generations, because lets face it if the older generation did not teach you to hate or teach you that the sexual orientation difference means more then it does you wouldn’t feel that way.
Come on Bermuda – grow up – Our fellow Bermudians need protection within the law to they deserve every right we have.
It’s only the people with lack of intelligence, fake Jamaicans and pseudo Christians leaving those types of comments on here.
Bermuda does have some of the most negative, nasty, racist, bigoted people on Earth who claim to be righteous but behind closed doors all bets are off. These men are on here are the biggest frauds who are laying down with another man at night while he tells you he’s working and shouting for the prosecution of homosexuals! This is Bermuda and people talk so they can pretend like we don’t know what them and their aceboy are doing at night having sleep-overs at 25 years old. Or calling it “rape”. Or claiming your Christian faith turned you back on to women, nonsense, there is no such thing. I know quite a few cases like this in Bermuda and people would be surprised that a place so filled with so much HATE towards gays probably has the highest number of them. Actually it wouldn’t be a surprise because, “those who protest the loudest have the most to hide”. They claim being gay is a sin but many of them have multiple children with multiple baby mothers/fathers and weren’t married before they had children. I bet 80% of them commenting on here are guilty of this.
It’s no surprise though that the ones who are against are convenient Christians and borderline illiterate people. Most intelligent people don’t have a problem with gay people and a lot of the younger crowd in my generation don’t either.
I’m not saying that they have to agree with being homosexual but calling for the death of them is on the extreme side which begs the question, “why do they care so much”? We as human beings all deserve the same rights, which is all they want. No I am not gay but have had a lot of gay friends who were more decent and moral than a lot of straight people I know.
I would also like to say if Bermuda as a whole, the “religious” population included were just as outraged about PEDOPHILIA as they are against homosexuality maybe less of our children would be victimized and have their worlds crushed by devious, immoral, evil adults! The life long effects of that are tremendous yet not a peep out of society here. How many Bermudians know of men over 25 “dating” middle schoolers or high schoolers? This is common place in Bermuda and that isn’t even as bad as the undercover molestation that goes on in this island and in the CHURCH(the same places that teaches this hatred for gays). I know because while I have never been molested, or raped, quite a few “sick” and “immoral” men have approached and would have it they could have. I actually read comments defending pedophiles yet no one called them out on that but a gay pride post will bring out all the angry closet cases and bible thumpers. Consenting gays hurt NO ONE yet I see no outrage when child rapists are out in 2 or 3 years, if that. Where are the fake Jamaicans and Christians then? Where are the comments calling for the death of pedophiles?
I have yet to see one GOOD reason why they shouldn’t be given equal rights. Not one. To use the bible as a reason is nonsense because not everyone believes in God, your God, the bible, your religion, your beliefs, which is all just a cop-out excuse really. If you don’t want them to have marriage rights, ok, however if they are mistreated for simply being gay they should have some legal rights in that regard.
Get your priorities in order and stay out of consenting adults personal lives.
Good post Stephanie.
Good posts, Stephanie and Free up. except for the accusations, which may or may not be true but tend to make others even more defensive than these folks already are.
I agree that there is much immorality taking place in our little world, paedophilia,adultery, domestic abuse, incest and rape, the vast majority of which is committed by so-called heterosexual males, many of whom claim to be Christians. Those who are so worried about gay people being around their children would do better to direct their attention toward the trusted “straight” men in their circles. Statistically, more than 90% of sexual assaults, on both males and females, are committed by heterosexual men. A small proportion, maybe 5-6%, by homosexual males, and 2 – 3% by females.
It’s not really accusations as I stated I know of real situations in Bermuda that I listed. The things I said actually happened and that I know about personally.
If every1 was gay the world would end. So it can’t be right.
But they aren’t, so it hasn’t.
Exhibit A ^
Moron.
H
If gay people are so hated in Bermuda why did we elect so many in gomint??
Wow. As a gay Bermudian I always try to promote the great things about the Island to my friends and coworkers abroad. I’m going to half to stop that as bigotry and hated abound on this rock. Some of our best and brightest minds leave to find love and peace abroad because it doesn’t happen here. And like it or not gay people have the most disposable income for tourism in the world economy now. Bermuda is hanging itself, And I fear it might not bounce back.