Rainbow Alliance Seeks Clarity From Bean, PLP
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda said they would like to “publicly address” the new PLP leader Marc Bean, saying he has “previously gone on record with his derogatory personal opinions of the LGBTQ community.”
They quoted Mr Bean’s comments during the debate about the Human Rights Act in July 2012, saying: “These words contain the insensitivity and latent homophobia that the Rainbow Alliance was created to combat on the island.
“To have them come from the leader of the opposition party threatens to legitimize his views in the eyes of the public, and undo any progress Bermuda has made towards joining the rest of the modern world’s tolerance and respect for the LGTBQ community.”
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda said they would like Marc Bean and the PLP to clarify their position on the amendment to the Human Rights Act.
During that debate, Mr Bean said: “If I am a landlord and I do not want gay persons in my apartment, I think it’s their right to deny anyone to rent their apartment. You know why, because they are responsible for that mortgage, it’s their house, it’s their property.
Me Bean said that is a private right, but under public rights everyone can buy their own house, and do what they like in the privacy of their own house.
“In other words, gay people can go and buy a mansion and they can have the biggest rainbow circle gay parties and bashments all they like on their property,” said Mr Bean.
The Rainbow Alliance said they look forward to a response from Mr. Bean and the PLP, and “hope to gain them as allies going forward.”
“We would also like to encourage Mr. Bean and any other unsure politicians or members of the public to reach out to groups like ours and familiarize themselves with the very real social injustices perpetrated against the LGBTQ community in Bermuda.”
The Rainbow Alliance’s full statement follows below:
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda would like to congratulate the One Bermuda Alliance on their victory in the recent election and praise the Progressive Labour party for being gracious in their defeat. We hope that both parties will be able to work together to address the issues facing Bermudians.
The Rainbow Alliance is committed to seeking social acceptance, legislative protection, and equality for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer) community and their allies. Both parties expressed willingness to amend the Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation during their pre-election campaigning.
LGBTQ people are disadvantaged under the current status quo, and this must be addressed. We now implore the current government to follow-through with these promises and create legislative change.
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda would also like to publicly address the new leader of the PLP, Marc Bean. Mr. Bean has previously gone on record with his derogatory personal opinions of the LGBTQ community, stating: “tolerance does not equate of acceptance of behavior.”
He also stated that as a home-owner, he does not believe he should have to rent to a homosexual if he disapproves of their lifestyle and that they should instead buy their own homes: “In other words, gay people can go and buy a mansion, and they could have the biggest rainbow circle of gay parties and ‘bashments’ on their property.”
These words contain the insensitivity and latent homophobia that the Rainbow Alliance was created to combat on the island. To have them come from the leader of the opposition party threatens to legitimize his views in the eyes of the public, and undo any progress Bermuda has made towards joining the rest of the modern world’s tolerance and respect for the LGTBQ community.
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda would like Marc Bean and the opposition PLP to clarify their position on the amendment to the Human Rights Act, or the bringing forth of a new legislation to protect all the people of Bermuda, regardless of their sexual orientation.
As opposition party leader, Mr. Bean’s personal opinions may hold great sway over the PLP’s position on this and other LGBTQ equality issues going forward. He holds the responsibility for helping move Bermuda forward, and we hope that he will help stem the unacceptable negative public opinion of the LGBTQ community.
We look forward to a response from Mr. Bean and the PLP, and hope to gain them as allies going forward. We would also like to encourage Mr. Bean and any other unsure politicians or members of the public to reach out to groups like ours and familiarize themselves with the very real social injustices perpetrated against the LGBTQ community in Bermuda.
The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda can be contacted at RainbowAllianceBDA@gmail.com, or online at our website www.RainbowBermuda.org and our Facebook page Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda: http://www.facebook.com/RainbowAllianceBermuda.
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tisk tisk Mr. Bean…so i guess it is alright not to rent to white people because i don’t like the way they act either..or is that wrong?
there’s a major difference between being white and being gay..
you are mighty dim…
Is that because gays are tidy? There’s a big difference between man and women to, so is it ok then not to rent to men?
No it is not because gays are tidy.
PLEASE STOP comparing homosexuality to one’s race, racism, or the civil rights movement to get blacks and other minorities equal rights based on race in society as being equal. The two “rights” are different.
A person’s race is their identity, it’s a class of people, it’s a part of one’s history and culture. A person’s race is sacred, one’s ethnicity is sacred. Therefore, anything sacred should not be violated.
Homosexuality is a behaviour, it is not a person’s identity, or class of people, history or culture. This is the same for heterosexuals. Heterosexuals are not a class of people. These are names given to people that practice a specific sexual behaviour (straight = heterosexual – gay = homosexual). We are males and females, not gays and straights. In other words, we are males and females by anatomy, but gays and straights by behaviour.
When you use race and sexuality in the same context and equate the two to civil rights (movement) here is what you’re essentially saying.
“Homosexuals want to be considered a class of people by depicting themselves as victims who, like blacks (during the civil rights movements), have been denied civil rights. That way, they can make the argument that those who oppose their agenda are discriminating against them rather than their behaviour. According to homosexuals and their supporters, anyone who opposes homosexuality (behaviour) are all bigots that are on par with racists and are opposed to fairness itself. ”
With that said, I don’t care what you are sexually, but please don’t compare racial rights and one’s sexuality rights as being equal.
Homosexuality is not a ‘behavior’. In fact there’s a growing field of scientific evidence which suggests that sexuality and sexual preferences are something that people are born with- in fact, it crops up in numerous other species of animal as well. I won’t go into too much detail about it here, but you can look it up.
Furthermore, one’s sexuality is DEFINITELY a part of their sense of personal identity, and given the lowered ability of the LGBTQ population to achieve access to many basic civil rights, in the status quo of Bermuda society, LGBTQ persons can be defined as a disadvantaged social class.
Obviously the race civil rights movement is not completely the same; for example, they never had to put up with any ridiculous arguments about how the way they were born is their fault or a choice. Answer me this, why would anyone choose to belong to one of the most discriminated and marginalized groups in the world? Nobody would. The other crucial difference is that it’s easier to hide being gay than it is to hide being black; you can escape from the ire of judgmental persons in society by pretending to be straight. But this so often leads to such great internal struggle, depression, suicide. Why, in 2013, can people not express their own identity for fear that they will be treated as though they were not human?
The race and LGBTQ civil rights movements are not the same. But that doesn’t mean they should not be given the same level of credence. They both boil down to whether or not a person can be punished for something they can’t control- which obviously would be cruel and stupid.
Thanks KitCat,
I don’t mind having an honest debate. Let me address a few of your points.
Your 1st Point – “In fact there’s a growing field of scientific evidence which suggests that sexuality and sexual preferences are something that people are born with”
I would never take scientific evidence as being gospel. A lot of times, scientific evidence is one-sided, wrong, or changes over time.
Some of the very people that conducted these homosexuality gene studies themselves have said and I quote “At best, the evidence for a genetic and/or biological basis to homosexual orientation is inconclusive.” Like many scientific studies. In fact, since the early 1990s, numerous studies attempting to establish a genetic cause for homosexuality have not proven to be valid or repeatable. Valid and repeatable two important requirements for study results to become accepted as fact in the scientific community.
Here are a few of these studies and what the scientist said about their own studies.
1991 Hypothalamus (Brain) Study, Simon LeVay, who self-identifies as gay, said: “It’s important to stress what I didn’t find. I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn’t show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain.”
1991 Twins Study, Richard Pillard – also a gay man – admits: “Although male and female homosexuality appear to be at least somewhat heritable, environment must also be of considerable importance in their origins.
1993 X Chromosome Study, Dean Hamer – also a gay man – said: “…environmental factors play a role. There is not a single master gene that makes people gay…I don’t think we will ever be able to predict who will be gay.”
And from the 2005 Fruit Fly Study, Barry Dickson, the lead researcher, admitted that the understanding of how innate behaviours are genetically determined is “rudimentary at best.” He also admitted that the male-male courtship behaviours they observed probably involved “environmental and social stimuli” and that the female-female courtship behaviour was abnormal – missing some key steps.
The 2005 male and 2006 female pheromone studies from Sweden that gay activists claimed were more evidence of a biological basis to homosexuality? (Pheromones are chemicals that can be smelled and are known to influence animal behaviour. However, their role in humans is unknown.) Here, it is significant that Ivanka Savic, the lead researcher, said that the 2005 study had nothing to do with proving homosexuality to be biological. And regarding the 2006 study, she said “it is very important to make clear that the study has no implications for possible dynamics in sexual orientation.”
More recently, Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, summed up the research on homosexuality saying that “sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations”
So clearly, using these very studies the case for a “gay gene” has not been made. Still at this very moment, the scientific evidence of being “born gay,” is in FACT (truth) inconclusive. Therefore, until this so called scientific evidence of a “gay gene” becomes 100% true then sexual orientation is, at its core, a matter of how one defines oneself – not a matter of biology or genes.
Your 2nd Point – You have a valid point that one’s sexuality is a part of their sense of personal identity. However, you have people that would argue that committing adultery or being a paedophile is a part of who they are and they can’t help it. That is their sexuality but that does not make it right.
Your 3rd Point – “Obviously the race civil rights movement is not completely the same; for example, they never had to put up with any ridiculous arguments about how the way they were born is their fault or a choice”
I am quite sure they would have rather wished that the only thing they had to put up with was “ridiculous arguments.” During the movement many of them were murdered, whipped, experienced police brutality, and in the states children were bombed to death, shot, and had dogs attack them. There is a video I watched some months ago during the civil rights movement were gunman fired upon blacks and the whites supporting blacks and murdered countless number of people that were marching. Oh and they had to put up with a lot of verbal abuse. So I don’t think “never had to put up with any ridiculous arguments” is the right thing to say in comparison.
Your last point – “They both boil down to whether or not a person can be punished for something they can’t control- which obviously would be cruel and stupid.”
Guess What? There is also scientific evidence that shows homosexuality is something that can be controlled. In fact, once scientific study of 200 men, showed that over time, most of them did in fact change from being homosexual to heterosexual and never went back (because they were able to control their desire). See how you can use scientific evidence to support any points.
Personally, I don’t care what a person is sexually. I don’t hate homosexuals. However, I do not agree with the sexual lifestyle that goes along with it. I don’t hate adulterers, but I do not like or agree with their sexual lifestyle. Our moral decadence is growing and going down the wrong road.
@100%, in theory your argument is logical, but in fact I think what you’ll find is that under Human Rights Law (but not Bermuda’s yet) one is protected from discrimination based on their race and/or their sexuality, or age, religion etc. etc.
Religion – if I follow your argument is ‘a behaviour’ (your words), a choice in fact. Should we be allowed to discriminate against others based on their choice of religion?
In order to protect all individuals, one’s sexual orientation is recognised as being equal in value to race, age, religious belief to be protected under the law! You might not agree but that’s what human rights are all about, protecting all humans from discrimination based on these behaviours/choices/values that they have.
George,
Valid points.
Religion – One’s religion is a personal choice. What I think you’re asking me, is since I believe religion is a choice and homosexuality is a choice (based on behaviour), then we should be allowed to discriminate against others based on their choice of religion.
Here is the difference of choices. One’s religion is sacred. One’s sexuality is not. It would be difficult to discriminate against religion when most countries constitution is predicated upon and guided by religion, religious beliefs, traditions and customs and are the source of moral standing.
I totally understand your last paragraph and I have no problems with that statement. However, we do need to draw the line in accepting what for many centuries before our time all people understood what was morally wrong. Not all behaviours and choices are created equal. Polygamy is a choice, but it is also morally wrong.
In closing, I do have a question. Since religion is protected in the Human Rights Act (HRA),and let’s say based on my religion I don’t agree with the homosexual or any deviant sexual behaviour. If I deny a homosexual couples their rights of renting an apartment at a house I own, based on the HRA, I can face legal consequences. If that is the case, then isn’t my religious beliefs (rights) not being violated.
Just like to add here that the US Constitution was NOT based on Christian beliefs. The founding fathers for the most part were Deists. They believed in a Creator but not organized religion. The Treaty of Tripoli in 1796 specifically states the US was not founded under Christian beliefs or doctrine.
George you need to understand the right to private property. I can rent out my apartments to whomever I want based on whatever criteria I want. I for one do not support the gay community and I would never raise my children around that filth. Gay people can buy their own houses or rent from somebody else who doesn’t mind living around that filth.
You are ignorant, 100%.
Explain to us all how people of color are different than others anatomically. Does the fact that there is no difference make a person’s race not his or her identity? How about religion; is that not an identity for some of us? Clearly it is, yet I am unaware of any anatomical difference based on religion.
Like race, sexuality is not a choice (who would make such a choice in today’s world?). Homosexual people have been discriminated against and worse for time immemorial. In that way, their plight is far worse than those complaining of (or suffering from) racial discrimination, as the discrimination against our gay brothers and sisters is far more widespread than discrimination against any one race. The fact that you arbitrarily have judged a person’s sexuality not also their identity says far more about your ignorance than it does about anything else.
Billy Mays, I think you have misread what I wrote or you’re taking what I wrote out of context.
I never said or implied that people of colour are different than others anatomically. People of colour are not different than others anatomically (lol). This is what I said about anatomy, “We are males and females, not gays and straights. In other words, we are males and females by anatomy, but gays and straights by sexual behaviour or desire for the same sex.” ARE WE NOT? Is that statement not true!! Saying “We” implies everyone including people of colour.
Let’s say you want to trace your family history to see where your family originated from, one key element to help you find that out is your race. If most of your family is white, than you’re not going to start your search in Kenya. Why? Race is a part of your identity and racial history. You would go absolutely no where trying to find your family history based on anatomy.
What I was trying to say in my first post is that people compare homosexual “rights” as being the same “rights” that people of colour and minorities had to fight for. They use terms such as “Gay is the new Black”. All I am saying is that racial rights and gay rights cannot be compared. One is sacrosanct and the other is not. Also religion is a form of identity. When I say identity I mean everything that goes along with it; it’s a class of people, it’s a part of one’s history and culture. Homosexuality or Heterosexuality is not a person’s identity. It is not a class of people, nor is it a part of one’s history or culture.
If a person of colour wants to find out who their great, great, great, grandfather is, you can’t go to a historian and say, I’m a homosexual or heterosexual so find out who my grandfather from 200 years ago was. That is not a class of people, it is not an identity. You can say my race is Black, and then based on that the historian can say well lets trace your roots back to the West Indies or Africa. I don’t know if I explained that clearly but I hope you understand what I mean.
“The fact that you arbitrarily have judged a person’s sexuality not also their identity says far more about your ignorance than it does about anything else.”
Someone’s sexuality should be judged just as the adulterer sexuality that cheats on their spouse, just like the paedophile, and the fornicator. Their sexuality is not and will ever be classified as one’s identity, therefore, can and should be judged based on a moral and righteous standard.
Bottom Line: There is a difference between someone’s racial identity, racial culture, racial class, and someone’s sexuality. One is sacred, the other is not.
you failed to recognise the third gender..the Hijras (as known in India) are born with both gender parts and identify with neither but instead are their own class of people.
@ Always Watching,
Are you gonna sit there and act like this stuff doesn’t go on alredy? I would bet my bottom dollar that there are plenty white and black people who will only rent to certain people. This has been going on for years, this is far from being something new.
So it’s ok then, as long as a PLP person is saying it?
@Rick Rock,
I never said was ok, I told you how it is. Whether the PLP or the OBA person is saying it does not make a difference. Your a foul if you think it matters.
There is legal recourse under the Human Rights Act if you are discriminated against based on your race. There is no such protection for homosexuals.
@ Ridiculous,
You are correct that legal action can be taken, but be honest, how many of these cases have you seen?
I will be honest, I have a gay cousin, and when I was younger, I was on the tip (gays or faggots don’t belong in society). However, I have grown, and understand that everyone needs to be respected in this world, whether black or white, gay or straight. On the same note, I am not sure if I am ready to be walking down the street with my nephew and see 2 men kissing, but I know something needs to happen, because gay people are part of the community just like everyone else. Don’t know the solution to this problem, but I know it needs to be addressed.
I’m glad that you are at least willing to consider that regardless of anyones sexual orientation, all people deserve love and respect. Unfortunately, without legislation to protect these rights, homosexuals are disadvantaged in Bermuda’s society to gain acceptance and equal rights.
There are lots of people that do not like PDA, and amending the Human Rights Act to include protection under the grounds of sexual orientation does not mean that suddenly there’s going to be a big gay Front Street orgy, or to use Mr. Bean’s words, a “rainbow circle bashment”. It just means that homosexuals and heterosexuals alike will be able to seek legal recourse if they are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.
You are right- this needs to be addressed.
@ Bermudian: You said: “be honest, how many of these cases have you seen?”
You would not have seen any of “these cases” because, since it is not illegal to discriminate, there would therefore be no case to answer. Any LBGTQ person who has been discriminated against in any way and takes it to the Human Rights Commission will be told that there is nothing that can be done. Just because you haven’t seen any such cases does not mean there have not been any. Far from it.
While on the subject of the Human Rights Commission, I hope the new government will take it upon themselves to give the HRC some teeth. Presently, in cases where the Human Rights Act does apply, the HRC can investigate and can decide there is a case to answer, BUT then any follow-up action is dependent on the Minister’s say-so.
The HRC needs to have the mandate to address any and all discrimination, not just those cases the Minister decides to pursue. Presently, all other cases fall by the wayside. That is not right.
The only difference is people are racists in secret, but put on a show when they do it to a gay person.
a land lord can rent to whom ever they please!!!!
if i dont want my house to have a smoker in it i can state that in a contract!
if i dont want a younger person because of what ever reason, i have the RIGHT not too!
if i dont want to rent to a person of a certain race (even though i personally dont agree with this one) then i dont have to
i am the one paying the bills and land tax and mortgage then i can say and do what ever i want with MY property!!!
you dont like it FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO LIVE!!!!
@sign,
Thank you for helping make my point. Bermudians have and will turn down anyone for any reason, whenever they so choose. I’m not here to judge if it is right or wrong, simply stating how it is.
If you live on the property and there are 3 or fewer units, go right ahead and disallow whoever the hell you want. You may be a discriminatory jerk, but hey, that’s your legal right, cuz you live there.
But if you don’t live there… or let’s say you own the whole 8-condo complex and also live there…. well… you have no say. It’s a human rights violation, to discriminate based on race, sex, disability, ethnic background, whether the renter or their kids were born in wedlock, marital status, religion, or even criminal record!!! You can be taken to court!!!
We just want to add sexual orientation to that list! \
http://www.bermudalaws.bm/Laws/Consolidated%20Laws/Human%20Rights%20Act%201981.pdf
@Bermudian: That is a true statement..
Actually Bermuda’s law provide landlords the right to turn someone down or even evict them from the residence for no reason whatsoever- provided the landlord lives in the same building/complex.
ummm….
this happens all the time, there are many apts that are for “ex-pats” only meaning preferably White in so many words.
Its the landlords choice
most black landlords dont have a problem with this, but on the other hand…….
Exactly, I’ve seen many apartment rental postings by expats stating they are seeking expats, so lgbtq people, are they discriminating as well….
Yes, the Human Rights Act covers discrimination based on ethnicity, national origins, and place of origins. You have a legitimate complaint that can be brought to the Human Rights Commission for review. There is no provision for sexual orientation, however.
I find it odd that there has not been a backlash from within his own party? Or has nobody pointed out that there are a few PLP members that he likely insulted!
Its because those PLP members love a leader who doesn’t put their brain in gear before opening their mouth. Some one who is gonna keep stirring up the pot. He’s like a Ewart Brown reincarnation.
The saying goes, “What’s good looks evil and what’s evil is excellent at looking good.”
I own a business. Should I be allowed to deny certain segments of our society access to by goods/services if I so choose? Afterall, I am responsible for making a profit/paying my bills… Marc Bean sounds like an old white person trying to justify the racist practices of days past. No, sir, you can’t deny access to anybody based on race/sexual orientation, etc. I thought this was ‘duh’?
@business owner,
I don’t think you should be asking if you are allowed to deny certain segments of society. Maybe the question that needs to be asked is if this type of thing happens in the island. Yes, it does, whether it is rental of a homes, membership of a club, shopping in stores. There are suttle ways to make people feel like they are not wanted, and this practice has been going on for years.
But can I go to the public and say no blacks are welcome? There would be a huge outcry over such a statement (rightfully so)… Yet when people say they shouldn’t be forced to rent to gays nobody says anything…instead, many agree with such a statement (which is ridiculous). Oh how the tide turns…when the oppressed becomes the oppressor. People no less choose to be gay than people choose to be black.
@business owner,
I agree with you, it is wrong, but it is their right to choose. Who am I to tell them who they should let live in their homes?
With regard the business side of things, that wouldn’t make business sense, being this island is majority black. Trust me, I get your point, but sadly it’s how things are. I personally would rent to anyone, as long as the money is real, I don’t care. But for some, it’s almost like trying to tell them your religion is the best religion (disregarding their own religion), or telling them how to vote. They just are not hearing or listening to you.
You do certainly choose to have gay sex. There is no black ‘act’ but there is a homosexual act. You can choose not to have gay sex just like you can choose not to have incest or sex with an animal even if you were born with a genetic inclination toward such acts. I have a genetic predisposition toward having as many women as I possibly can but I can choose not to act upon that impulse. How do you feel about the rights for couples of incest? I.e. brother and sister, mother and son, father and daughter (adults). Please answer and stand up for their rights as well.
Nice try to change the topic of debate and obfuscate from the reality of this discussion…it’s a common tactic from bigots like you. Anyway, incest/sex with animals is illegal in Bermuda. Being gay (or having gay sex isn’t) isn’t. If that debate comes up (incest, etc.) we can discuss then…but for now, let’s just keep it narrowly defined with regard to renting to gays. You can’t justify not being able to rent to gays without also arguing that whites have the right to not serve blacks at their establishments/put them in the back of the theatre/bus, etc. How so many people think one is acceptable but the other isn’t is mind boggling…and shows just how far Bermuda really has to go. In 50-years we will look back at those who held views of gays being inferior in the same light as we hold racist whites of 50-years past. They can’t die off soon enough…
I responded to business owner’s comment that “people no less choose to be gay than they choose to be black”. Any and EVERY time gays attempt to marry their cause with race they should be willing to marry it with other forms of sexuality too and be prepared to hear a different view. So I didn’t change the subject at all, it’s simply a fact that you want to make these comparisons and not be challenged on them at all. Two words and a comma includes incest so stop discriminating against other forms of sexuality bigot. Why are you against incest? Explain yourself please!
Well one big problem with incest: “Children born of close incestous unions have greatly increased risk of congenital disorders, death and disability at least in part due to genetic diseases caused by the inbreeding.”
@JudgeDredd… Choosing not to have gay sex does not make a person straight, anymore than choosing not to have straight sex makes a person gay. What it means is they’re not having sex. Pure and simple. Gay, lesbian, transgender etc isn’t about the sexual act.
Incest, now, is.
“choosing not to have gay sex does not make a person straight”….We are not discussing desires or inclinations that can be labelled with terms like homo or hetero, we are discussing BEHAVIOURS. I do not define myself as straight or hetero, but if you ask me would I act upon homosexual inclinations i would answer hell no. And If you are claiming that everyone who has homosexual inclinations without acting upon them then we must say vice versa for gays with”hetero” desires. And we must also say that all men who desire other women outside their committed partnership are adulterers etc. Whether it makes you straight, celibate, or whatever title you choose, choosing not to have gay sex and cohabit as a gay couple is in fact choosing not to practice homosexuality And that is all that is being discussed here. So with that, how can you compare being black with that? And most important, please explain why you excluded people who have an incest orientation from your cause! Why is incesto sexuality an act but homo sexuality isn’t?
This is really a stupid statement. Obviously being gay/homosexual is a choice. There is no way being gay can equate to being black, white, asian, or any race. Being gay is the same as being a fireman, or like being a drug addict. It’s the choice that a person makes. It’s like gay people think they are better than everyone else, looking for special treatment. What I want to know is what do you really want. It’s not like people are getting locked up for being gay, I don’t see them crying out for the drug users (choice) who get locked up daily.
So, when did you choose to start liking girls as a young boy? Did you weigh the option between liking boys vs. girls? Or was it a natural ‘choice’ for you…and something you didn’t even think about?
The liking is not the object of the choice, the sexual act is. Would you say it’s ok for children to have sex because they started “liking” each other? When I started liking girls I liked ALL of them including teachers and even close relatives, but I certainly disagree with having an orientation of pursuing all women or family members. That’s the difference between having desires and having a discipline. I can’t be an adulterer just because I have “likings” or desires for other women. I don’t respect this forcing of sexuality on our children that the gay community is doing, this in in fact paedophilia. Leave children out of this because they are not homo or hetero sexuals any more than they can be pedophiles, adulterers, zoosexuals, or bisexuals. This is paedophilia and the sexualization of our children. If a child can be a hetero or homosexual then they can have sex can’t they? ? Sick!
@ Judge Dredd: Actually, one can be homosexual without engaging in the sex act. Being homosexual or heterosexual relates to your affectional inclination. In other words, the people you are attracted to/fall in love with. You may not ever have sex with them, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t attracted to them.
In fact, there are quite a few men who consider themselves to be heterosexual but enjoy sex with men. They don’t believe they are gay, in fact they totally reject the idea that they might be gay. Back in the 90′s, there was a whole community of wives on Long Island who found out they were HIV positive and couldn’t understand why. Their commuter husbands were enjoying male to male sexual activity in the City and coming back to infect their faithful wives. I also know of several heterosexual addicts who will engage in same sex encounters in order to feed their habits. Would I consider either of the people in these scenarios homosexuals? No, although they engage in homosexual behaviour.
Sorry I just had to throw that in there to highlight that it is NOT just the behaviour that is the issue.
Science may not yet have discovered the “homosexual gene” but that doesn’t mean that people are not born that way. Just because people believed the world was flat back in medieval times didn’t mean the world wasn’t round.
Nothing more beautiful than the female body, but apparently even the Spartans, legendary warriors, used their women for babies and their men for pleasure. I don’t think I could even be remotely attracted to some hairy a$$ man but hey, to each their own.
you cant compare unequal treatment against black to that of unequal treatment towords gay!!!
ITS NOT THE SAME
Discrimination is Discrimination whether its against Gay people Black, White, Asian, Jews, Catholics, etc.
Look-comparing homosexuality to colour, creed etc. is stupid, and people have a right to think homosexuality is disgusting-it’s just something that is ingrained in most people by nature. Forget test tube babies, surrogates, etc.-if everyone were gay, the human race would die out and that is a fact! Humans are instinctually horrified by that prospect as it is built in that we want to procreate and homosexuality is seen as a threat to that on some level in our psyche-whether we realize it or not.
I personally find homosexuality beyond disgusting just considering the physical aspect of it by using parts for what they aren’t supposed to be used for. Plus a friend of mine was a housekeeper for gay guys and some of the stories of what she found and had to clean up disgusted me…certain stuff belongs in a toilet, not a bed-let’s just leave it at that.
Flamoyant gays who don’t know if they’re male or female also comopunds our disgust. Gay people should understand that certain feelings are just built in to us as a human species and that isn’t necessarily because of reliogious views, etc.-it’s just human views.
*compounds
*religious
…hope I didn’t miss anything else-if so, I DO know how to spell, believe it or not!!!
There is actually a growing faction of scientists who believe that homosexuality may be naturally increasing in response to the overpopulation of humans. If everyone was straight and instinctively procreated the earth would no longer be able to sustain us.
@Bermudian–I agree even single mothers don’t have any recourse when it comes to being discriminated against for renting an apartment with sons…there is so much discrimination on so many levels that precede the homosexual issue which is an interchangeable preference rather than a natural occurence..In my opinion homosexuals need to be specific about their discrimination which falls under the human rights or a criminal issue which we have seen tried in court already..The gay issue is not expedient as it is more expedient to find out why men are gay because this doesn’t seem natural to me for a man not to love and adore women..We have a problem in this world with respecting women, who are the child bearers of the world..I hope that we can eliminate all forms of discrimination and also exam the racist system that has perpetuated such behavior through the ommission of meaningful, sound education that is not one sided. Also if we are all striving for some form of freedom than lets admit to the discriminatory practices and eliminate them for all in that way we can kill two birds with one stone.
Funny – every PLP leader becomes a target of the special interest groups. Why couldn’t they just directly contact Mr Bean and request a meeting with him? I know Mr Bean and he would have likely been fine with that. But to make this a media circus runs contrary to good relationship building.
How do you know they didn’t? Bean is a homophobe, he probably told them to eff off.
Anyone guilty of publicly condoning discriminatory practices runs the risk of having to defend those statements in public.
He’s an MP. He made those statements publicly. It is a public matter, not a private one.
Or better yet, why not ask the OBA for their position. Did the Rainbown Alliance look up what Craig Cannonier said.
Newsflash Rainbow Alliance, election is over, PLP are the opposition, ask the OBA their position!!!!
Please read the statement in full, they begin by asking the OBA to amend the Human Rights Act, as it was one of their platform promises.
The only reason they are addressing the PLP is because there is a new party leader who differs in opinion from the last one.
Here’s why – if he made a decision to PUBLICALLY insult them and impose his personal views upon the people of Bermuda, then they too have every right to PUBLICALLY respond to his comments!
I would like to briefly address two of the comments and one of the main issues running through this column.
It is often falsely suggested (Rolfe Commissiong has done so in the past) that it would be contrary to the core beliefs of the PLP to include “sexual orientation” in the Human Rights Act. I suspect that this is Mr. Bean’s present position.
I would argue that this is definitely NOT the case. Why? Bermuda decided to decriminalize homosexuality when Parliament passed the Stubbs Bill in 1995. It is often falsely stated that this bill was passed by a predominantly “white” UBP Government but the fact is that MP’s were allowed a “free” vote rather than voting along party lines and those who voted in favour of the Stubbs Bill included the then leader of the PLP along with every single leader of the PLP since then who happened to be an MP at that time. This included The Hon L. Frederick Wade, Dame Lois Browne Evans, Alex Scott, Dame Jennifer Smith, and Dr. Ewart Brown.
I believe that two of those PLP MP’s who are no longer with us, Freddie Wade, and Lois Browne-Evans who spent her entire life fighting for equal human rights and was scathing in her attack on objectors to the bill, would be horrified that Bermuda has failed to move forward with its attitude towards tolerance and human rights.
Much is being said about the rights of a homeowner to be able to rent their apartment or property to anyone he or she chooses. The Human Rights Act already gives that choice to a homeowner who also lives on the same property. This means that the homeowner has every right to be as prejudiced or as racist as he or she wishes! He does not have to rent his apartment or house to a white or black person, an adulterer, a non-Christian, a foreigner, a Bermudian, or any of the categories of persons normally protected under the Human Rights Act. To the best of my knowledge no-one is suggesting that this section of the Act be changed or amended.
But the Human Rights Act does not allow a wealthy landlord with numerous properties to set a policy of exclusion for any of the groups protected by the Human Rights Act. You can be sure that some landlords still do so, but it is against the law of the land.
I believe that Marc Bean represents a new breed in the PLP who are determined to move our Island forward and I would also like to believe that he will listen to the voices of the Rainbow Alliance and do the right thing to support extending our Human Rights Act to protect those in our community who are presently being discriminated against.
However, I would also urge him to look back to 1995 and realize that he is standing on the shoulders of giants who knew what it was like to vote for what was right. And make no mistake, it is right to extend equal human rights to the members of our LGBTQ community.
Well said. Thank you!!!
You are correct, no one is campaigning to change that part of the law that allows landlords to discriminate as they wish if they live on the property.
Thank you, Reality Check, for that reminder.
Tolerance is another word for compromise and Bermuda should not compromise the Christian morals that have gotten our little island so far just to keep up with this world view which is anti Christian. Bermudians should not compromise. If you don’t like it leave. Go to sanfrancisco or providence town.
Christian ideals that have gotten our little island so far….mmmmhmmm
BINGO!….or is that gambling?
So we should refuse adulterers and unwed mothers now?
if you feel stong enough yes. stop condoning it and accepting what is wron. love the person but you do not have to condone or support the behaviour.
If you’ve read the Human Rights Act, you’d see that there is protection for people born out of wedlock, for people based on their marital status, etc.
http://www.gov.bm/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=495&&PageID=227302&mode=2&in_hi_userid=2&cached=true
So no, this is not something you can use as a legal reason.
i thought onl god could judge me! you people say anthing
So you take that to mean we shouldn’t have Judges or courts? You think it means we should not judge behaviours? Or does it simply mean that we should not place eternal judgement upon a soul which is reserved only for God, and people like you try to twist it so you can continue to practise folly unchallenged?
I wonder what your instructions/orders are for adulterers, Bob?
Where would you invite them to go??
How about Tehran, where they’d get stoned to death…..That’d be a “world view”, right?
I said nothing about adulterers. Stick to the topic at hand. (Lbgtq)
~sighing~
Clearly you’re the sort who only supports those ‘Christian morals’ that appeal to close-mindedness and not those that suggest you love your fellow man.
What do you mean the world view is “anti-Christian?” Do you mean in countries that are mostly Muslim? Because you cannot be talking about Bermuda or any other western society. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_by_country. 4.2 BILLION people are Christians out of 7 billion. That is 60%. That sounds like a majority. One of the biggest tricks that the Christian church has is to pin itself as the underdog which is far from the case. If that was the case Marc Bean wouldn’t be spewing his hatred in parliament and wouldn’t have bigoted and pious remarks like yours to support him. Please go sit back down in your closet…
Let me explain something to you that you obviously don’t know. The world is being brought into a one world government. This means all the laws are to be the same. The United Nations and the EU should be a good example of a coming world gov. Christian ideals which most western countries are founded on are slowly being peeled off one by one. Slowly but surely. Bermuda is on the heels of USA. And by the way there is a big difference to saying I’m a Christian and actually walking it out. Most of the president claim Christianity but do the total opposite in secret. You can’t be a Christian and be part of skull and bones.
And for the one saying the bible is outdated. Look up where it says in the bible that Christians will be beheaded and then do the research about the concentration camps being built in the states with huge guillotines .
Any one else wish to question my knowledge on the subject or are you all going to continue to be sheeple. A whole bunch of sheeple people. Just how they like em. Dumb scared and follow right behind society. Stand for society right…. (“Taken” voice)
GOOD LUCK. Lol
Actually the EU is a group of consenting countries who desire to support each other given their close geographical proximity.While the EU have agreed on some shared laws, they do not determine all the laws for all the member countries (who each have their own government and own laws). The United Nations is an inter-governmental organization, and also consists of consenting members. They do not suggest in any way that all laws should be the same, but merely try to reduce the prevalent violence and inequality around the world through treaties like the Geneva Conventions (human rights). They are not trying to get rid of Christian ideals, and they certainly are not trying to make all laws the same, and in that respect they do believe in the sovereignty and autonomy of any country.
As for this ridiculous statement about guillotines, I cannot find a single legitimate news source for this fact, only forum threads which are full of fanatics and lack actual proof. I think in your belief, you have become the following sheep of such fear mongers.
Every country has their extremists, and I cannot speak for any of them. I’m fairly sure that our government, the EU and the UN do not condone beheading Christians simply because they’re Christian.
That was a landslide victory and very well written.
Perhaps you should save us all from your bigotry and go spend some time with your god in heaven.
Go back and read the Bible…
What part? The part where we sentence people to a lifetime of exile for reading their horoscope? Or the part where we shouldn’t wear any kind of mixed fabrics? Say goodbye to the elastic holding your underwear up… it’s a sin. Admittedly, this is all from the Old testament Leviticus which bans all sorts of things, but we ignore most of these except the one section which mentions gay behavior. Talk about bias through selectivity.
It’s interesting how (some) Christians demand everyone be tolerant of their religion and make compromises when they want to skip a business meeting to go to a crusade, yet can’t tolerate the differences in others…
YOU SOUND UNEDUCATED
Feel free to leave on the next flight to Russia.
smdh
its 2013, get over it!
you old christian bermudians live in the stone ages and pick choose and refuse what verses in the bible you want to focus on and apply to everyday life
the bible is centries old, maybe . . . just maybe . . . its out dated! we had the old testiment, we have the new testiment, . . . maybe just maybe we need the new new testiment!!!
cause it funamental teachings are of value ( dont kill, dont cheat, dont steal etc), but the intricate verse that are vague and left for interpritation need adjusting or modfyig!!!!
i am str8 but i not bothered by gays.
if you want to date the same sex then do you!
i personally would care if one lived in my apt.
but ido feel that home owners have a right to protect there property from what ever they deem to be unfit!
if they dont want certain people there that up to them.
my opinion is money is neither gay nor str8, if you paying i dont give a rats a$$ what you do in your bedroom!!! . . . just dont get it on the walls! lol
have a great day bermuda im out
******wouldn’t care if one lived in my apt*****
TYPO
I agree fully!
Sometimes I wonder if any PLP members who have a strong racist attitude about whites in bermuda….do they rent their apartment outs to them and the internatioanl business community? Or do they do it because they are the ones that are going to pay their overpriced rental agreements, and spend the extra on some luxury. can anyone with a hate as Eval H. can answer this one.
“If you don’t like it leave.” No, if you don’t like it YOU leave….
PAHH!!!
Bobthebuilder…..
See my name on this thread? Your moral, high and Christian beliefs mean nothing to me. You can bet your bottom dollar, though, that there are plenty of gay Christians out there. What you got to say about that, you buffoon??!!
you cannot be a gay christian. that is an oxymoron
And why is that?
That’s like saying, “You cannot be an alcoholic Christian. That is an oxymoron.” or, “You cannot be an overweight Christian. That is an oxymoron.” Wake up!
What about gay pastors? There are even gay Bishops.
There goes your theory.
How do you explain this then ?
http://newsone.com/2024835/bishop-molests-boys/
@sooooashamed—-God is an oxymoron, how can christians suggest he is all knowing yet prayer is so consistent with being in touch with him, to let him know what is wrong or what we want..The whole damn world is an oxymoron, think about it….King James(James Stewart)was gay, and had his lovers killed and his own mother!!Then he commissioned men to write the bible back in 1601,..the bible( little books) was presented to the world in 1611..It contains soo much hypocracy, I am not surprised!!!Look who wrote it, if they don’t teach you right they won’t treat you right, people just take your own rights into your hands aslong as you don’t hurt anyone.
@soooashamed you are right. People call themselves Christians when they are not.
Oh wow I didn’t know. Are you serious??!!??!!
(Said with intense and over exaggerated sarcasm)
That’s alllll. What are you dumb or something….????
Gay atheist out there too. Lol
What’s the difference between gay & queer?
one is on top the other is on the bottom lol
Gay typically refers to gay males, although “gay” is used in a broad sense sometimes to refer to the entire LGBTQ community. Queer can refer to anyone in the spectrum who doesn’t wish to be specifically labeled, or someone who feels that none of the usual labels fit them.
Team Bean!!!!! Agreed… this aint candyland we are not following the rainbow!!!!
Mr. Bean has the right to his opinion, just like the rest of us and the LGTBQ has to respect that not every person in Bermuda will support their stance on what rights they should have. However if they want answers from him arrange a meeting with him to discuss the isssue and his views.
He stated his opinion in public. He should defend his opinion in public.
@Bobthebuilder.
We live in a democracy not a theocracy.
If being ruled by a sky pilot floats your boat, then may I suggest.
Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Oman and Iran. Oh, and Vatican City.
Ok and…. Thank you for stating the obvious. It would be nice if you understood the 5th pillar concept
Oops wrong person. All those places worship the same gods. Even in the Vatican. Research research research. Do it before opening your mouth and drooling on the keyboard.
Landlords for years have rented to WHO THEY WANT TOO…..AND they put in the rules that they want you to abide by……WHY….because it is THEIR property……
just ask the single mother with kids….Ask those that are not allowed ‘overnight’ guest…..Not allowed to have parties……not allowed to play music after 8pm…..can’t park here…can’t park there… your not married…and yes @ “Always Watching” race sometimes plays a part….the list is endless so why are you suprised if someone CHOSE not rent to someone that chooses to live an alternative lifestyle…..
Is this an issue simply because he was vocal and expressed HIS view (which he is entitled to by the way) SOME people think and feel the same way BUT will use another reason as a “scapegoat” ………………I agree with a previous comment…why not just call Mr. Bean and set up a meeting……always like to “stir the pot” by going to the media when it is an issue that could easily be resolved…..
Hay, you must know ——-. lol. I almost rented from h– but because of the lists of do’s and don’ts I said, “i don’t”.
I do believe in standard rules of occupation of ones property but some people are down right crazy. I would be willing to live by the landlords crazy rules if I were only staying there for free.
If you are a single mother that has been discriminated against because you are a) a woman OR b) your children were born out of wedlock, you have legal protection under the Human Rights Act, and you can contact the Human Rights Commission for help. Homosexuals have no such protection against discrimination, in housing, employment, etc.
This is what it comes down to. If you have been discriminated against for any of the reasons mentioned by @Tricks are For Kids, you have a legal system in place which you can use to support your case. If you have been discriminated against for being LGBTQ, you do not. This is why we need the change in legislation.
Ok then. I guess a business owner can hire who he wants as well. If he doesn’t want to hire a black man, or a Bermudian, that’s fine. After all, it’s his business.
This already happens. ..
You must have finally put on your glasses and can see clear. Wowwww it took you this long to figure this one out? We should start selling the truth sun glasses.
This happens everyday.
wow… @Bobthebuilder. You want our fellow Bermudians who are gay or lesbian to leave Bermuda? How Christian of you.
not conding an action is not the same as not liking a person. if i own a property i should have to right to rent to who i want. we already dont rent you young adults or unmarried couples or people wiuth small children depending on the property and if it is fyrnished or unfurnished. ig me haveing christian music and church services planng is going to offend my tennants or if their type of music os gonna offend me then i should have that right. why should my castle be comprimisded to acconodate a lifestlye i dont approve of. why do their right out weigh mine. they have a right to their life stile and i have freedom os religion and if the two should clash than the home owner should be the one to ultimatly have the last say. im sorry.
Soooo Ashamed, people like you make me literally want to vomit. It makes me laugh when people talk about THEIR property, when in most cases the property actually still belongs to the BANK. Suppose HSBC or Capital G decided you weren’t worthy of borrowing THEIR money based on the color of your skin, your age, the fact you’re an unwed mother or the loan officer doesn’t like that you’re a Catholic or a Jew. You would be screaming at the top of your lungs at how unfair it was. In your case, what if they didn’t like the fact that you can’t spell to save you life and sound very ignorant and uneducated? We are all human and deserve the same rights. I don’t understand why people seem to think because one is gay, they are automatically worthy of being disrespected. Mr. Bean’s comments were totally out of line, especially coming from a community leader.
The bank is a business providing a device to the public and is therefore COMPLETELY different from a private residence. Stop with the silly non-sequitur comparisons, it harms your cause.
The human rights act covers discrimination in housing and ALSO: employment; goods, facilities & services; contracts; public notices; & membership in associations & trade unions.
Regardless of whether you want homosexuals to live in your home (which is what everyone here seems to have fixated on), there should be a provision in the human rights act to protect sexual orientation for the other essential categories.
I think you missed the point Judge Dredd. The bank doesn’t HAVE to lend you money, it’s entirely their choice. And nobody sounds sillier than you, trying to sound smart with your words looked up in a dictionary. Speak English man, you aren’t fooling anybody!!!
Why couldn’t you just look up non-sequitur and shut up instead of exposing your fear of intellectual inadequacy. Yes I looked it up when I first came across the term YEARS AGO and have used it appropriately ever since. What I did not do, was attempt to paint the person I heard it from as being somehow I’ll equip. Don’t assume that your own curbs are the next man’s hurdles. It makes you even more pathetic.
Your property, your right to choose, I’m with Mark on this with regards to people choosing who they might want to rent thier place to. Testicular fortitude testing time lets see what his reply will be, flip flop or stand strong??????
It would normally be quite embarrassing for the Labour Party leader to be a self- confessed discriminatory bigot.
This is sad to see. White people used to say the samy about renting to black people in Bermuda in the 50′s.
I assume this is ok? Also the bible talks openly about slaves and how they should be treated. Pretty sure you think slavery is wrong?
GROW UP.
Some white people say that in 2013. Some blacks also. After investing millions in a home you have no right to tell me who can live in it.Do I have to pick them up in my private car too?
Really??
This is a different argument and you know it. The law does say you cannot discriminate to tenants because of their race sex etc. The issues is the same protection does not apply to homosexuals.
Are you saying you want all protection from discrimination removed if it is your property? I.e. you can be allowed to be a bigoted as you like to any tenant? If so that is, simply put, pathetic.
Black patrons in your restaurant? no thanks only white people can eat here, its my private restaurant.
White passnegers in my privately owed taxi? Nope get out I only carry black passengers.
Oh you have cancer? Sorry, no pain relief pills for you from my pharmacy. I dislike those that suffer from painful diseases.
THINK before you post rubbish. Every letter of your post erodes our brain cells and take us one step back towards living in loin cloths and smashing people with clubs.
Clarification for you all:
If you are a landlord and YOU LIVE on the property, you have the right to refuse anyone for any reason from renting your place. That is protected by law.
If you own multiple properties and are renting one out, which you do not live on, you cannot and should not discriminate for any reason! This is the protection we want to add to the HRA, along with employment and provision of goods and services for those of any sexual orientation.
you have clarified one item in your first paragraph but it doesnt sound that you have clarified anything in your second paragraph….actually it sounds like you are asking to alter or deviate from the presiding law…for your convenience or someone you may know personally…your words”cannot” and “should not” only verifies what i had said in an earlier posting here, thank you.
oh! by the way… To all gay persons that may be reading this and have ever encountered denial of goods or services please report said perpetrator to the media as well as the authorities so we can read and see how prevalent this subject matter is.
Nope sorry it does not matter whether the owner is residing at the private property or not, you are harming your cause by trying to push this issue I promise you.
Really you have a new government and you spend time complaining about PLP. Just let the OBA change it to what you want. I have a home and I have wonderful Lisbian Friends. I will not rent because they have chosen a particular Life style, but I will not rent to others maybe for other reasons . Its my flipping house for christ sake. The bank come to me for their money not anyone else. I do not rent to young thugs is that a problem. I dont rent to known smokers of anything its my RIGHT just like your RIGHT to live a certaion way. You just want to make an argument go lay down.
If you read the full text of the statement, this is not about renting houses- that was the context of the quote Mr. Bean used. This is about providing equal rights for all Bermudians, regardless of their sexual orientation. And the statement also addresses the OBA and asks them to start work on the legislation, but a great opposition is needed to ensure the government stays accountable. The opposition had made their position (support) clear under Paula Cox. The Rainbow Alliance is asking for clarification under the leadership of Marc Bean.
Two d^&%ks and no chick under my roof! in my apt, you gota be kidding right!!!! men shouldn’t sleep with men and women shouldn’t sleep with women bottom line.
If its my house and I dont wanna see that $h:: then that’s my right . Nobody wants to see two men kissing or hear dat it’s just gross .
If its my business and I dont wanna see blacks:: then that’s my right . Nobody wants to see black men or hear their sh#$ it’s just gross .
Rainbow Alliance, while I do not disagree with your right to ask for clarity from opposition leader Mark Bean just wondering did you ask Mr Bean for clarity before you went to the press? If not, I strongly disagree with asking him through the media and it makes me question your motives. If I were Mr. Bean I would be angry and upset with this approach – let’s face it it’s human nature. You can attract more bees with honey than vinegar and you just put out a gallon of vinegar! If you have contacted Mr. Bean prior to this article, than I retract my opinion and give you kudos for doing so.
His comment was made in the press, not directly to the Rainbow Alliance. He should account for it with the same amount of scrutiny the initial comments had. If you re-read the question, it is asking if as the party leader, he has changed the PLP’s official (supportive of amending the HRA) position to reflect his own personal position. This is a party question, and also is asking the OBA when they will create this promised change.
This absolutely is a public matter: the Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda does not have membership from every person interested in the topic, and the public deserves to know where our community leaders stand.
someone said it already but apparently some havent read or listened….IF I OWN SOMETHING IT IS MY PREROGATIVE TO DO AS I PLEASE WITH MY PROPERTY. WHY DO SOME PEOPLE THINK BECAUSE I HAVE SOMETHING THAT I HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE YOU…? YOU ARE ALL CONFUSING THE MESSAGE WITH MORAL OR ETHICAL REASONS NOT LAW. AS LONG AS IM NOT PUBLICLY DISRESPECTING YOU, YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THE MATTER.JUS AN EXAMPLE; IF I WAS A KNOWN DRUG ADDICT AND WANTED TO RENT YOUR PROPERTY …SHOULD I RALLY MR. BEAN TO FORCE YOU TO ACCOMMODATE ME ..? SEXUAL ORIENTATION SHOULD NEVER BE DISCUSSED BECAUSE OF THE IRRELEVANCE…WE ALREADY HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS …ARENT WE ALL HUMAN ..? WHAT YOU DO BEHIND CLOSED DOOORS IS NO ONES BUSINESS. WE ALL HAVE OUR PREFERENCES…YOU DISLIKE DRUGS AND I DISLIKE HOMOSEXUALITY.ONE IS AGAINST MANS LAW , THE OTHER IS AGAINST MY CREATORS LAW…PICK THE COLORS OUT OF THAT.
“Religulous”…get an éducation on the nonsense of religion and watch this movie! “Creators Law”? Really?
Look the bottom line is that a home is not a business or a public service, it is a home and people have a right to allow or deny occupants in their homes simple. A gay home owner may only want gays, a lone female owner may only want another lone female or a married couple, it is their right to allow on their own private property where they are raising their children whoever and whenever the hell they like. Even if a white only wants blacks or a black only wants whites on their property it is their right. The rainbow group are overshooting the scope of human rights and are actually harming their cause by focusing on these issues. They would do better to focus on highlighting issues that involve withholding of the legal human rights of lgbtq and not trying to violently enter private dwellings like the people of Lot. The number one thing you must accept is that Christians and many other faiths have a framework of sexuality that is heterosexual human rights means respecting this as well and standing for their rights too, not just your own. You may have a legal right to live as a homosexual but others believe there is a difference between having homosexual inclinations and ‘practising’ homosexuality. There is no black or white ‘action’ however there is a homosexual ‘act’ so they are not the same. Continuously banging on about this will harm your cause, leave it alone!
@ Judge Dredd: The issue is basic human rights – not special rights. Basic human rights are the right to seek shelter, employment and basic services without fear of discrimination.
Shelter is one of the issues that many Bermudian home owners are most concerned about, hence the attempts to clarify the caveats in the present Human Rights Act: if the landlord lives on the property and there are 3 rental units or less, the landlord may discriminate in what ever way they choose – no blacks or no whites; no unmarrieds; etc.
If there are more than 3 rental units and the landlord does NOT live on the property, there are certain areas in which s/he is NOT allowed to discriminate – race, marital status, sex, etc. – i.e. those areas presently covered by the Human Rights Act. If I understand the Human Rights Act correctly, rapists, murderers and devil-worshippers have more rights to shelter in such an instance than a gay person.
Judge Dredd, you have made your point. Read your posts, you are repeating yourself over and over and sounding foolish. Make a different point or get off the stage. You are hurting your cause.
If you got the point why not shut up and move on? At least I’m making my same point to many different posters each time, which is what sane people do, while you follow the same poster with different shades of bovine excrement each time which is what Smeagol does. Should I start throwing fits when people use a word I have to look up in a dictionary like you did? Should I get upset because I actually was forced to research a source other than my own lazy closed mind deluded by fantasies of grandeur and self-sufficiency? From the moment you showed contempt toward researching a dictionary you showed me and others how much dead weight your words hold. Get off the stage yourself with your false humility.
As long as people pay their rent on time , all the time , whatever sexual persuasion they so choose is of no concern to me . I could think of worse things some renters may get up to, like dealing drugs or selling guns and ammo . Look at the renter on South Road Warwick last year . Who would’ve wanted that creature as a tenant .
who gives a toss what the plp have to say about anything!
The more gay men there are in this world means less competition for straight men…
Be GAY!…just dont be offended when I call something gay because, honestly, you know what I mean. Seriously..how else am I supposed to discribe something like..say…A FANNYPACK!
And for all those christian lovers out there….Religion has caused more problems in this world than gay/lesbian people have so get over it. You are not perfect either..and theres a chance your priest will touch your sons genetals….
Sincerely,
Male bermudian that loves chicks (preferrably tourist chicks…a lot of you Bermudian ace girls got issues!)
Hahaha some of these comments are funny, some are ridiculous, yours by far is the best, I fully agree.
All I can say is you PLP supporters have an idiot for a leader. He has just shown the world what he is really all about. Maybe be another Ewart Brown. What a shame.
next up–Gay Marriages…
What get’s my goat is comments like “It’s Against my creators law” “The Bible say’s.”
Well then we are all DOOMED! There are 133 sins listed in the Bible and if you so choose to pick the ones that suit you, then don’t be mad at others for choosing which ones suit them
same sex sex is wrong end of story bottom line, it just principle n morals,everybody knows it not right its no way u can justify it
Forget about all this BS. What message are u sending to our children a mixed message witch is wrong. That’s why a lot of the youth are confused today cause wrong is made to look right and vise versa ..and it is wrong despite how u feel cause ya BS mentality. We all came here from a mother and a father .. Any of u gays queers or otherwise want to dispute that. So ur sin is against humanity ,like it or not. That’s why I wld rather not rent MY property to those that perpetrate this act against the laws of life where we all come from.. Forget all this BS most of u have more time an belief that u are more intelligent when really ya proving to be fools!
Preach it umjussaying! LoL. No one can deny your words…
So true,umjussaying !
Geesh I really ruffled the religious haters with that one. Anyways I think we might make out better if we look at the animals on how to live. Like you don’t see to male dogs f%#*£¥^ each other. Nope not natural.
And for those that said the bible is out dated I laugh. Discredit what you don’t understand. And all those wars that you say are because of Christians is wrong. It was the Catholic Church. A false Christian church and it was they who prosecuted real Christians. Do your research before opening your pie hole. Lol.
The tongue weighs virtually nothing but sometimes not even the strongest man can hold it. Lolololol.
Please do the research. Catholic Church is basically pagan religion. Hence the worshiping of all the saints which is a mirror if worshipping multiple gods. I need not go on.
Start from here it might help.”know your enemy part 1″ YouTube. Might give you some insight.
Yeah some typos but it happens with a touch screen. Duuuuhhhh
“Like you don’t see to male dogs f%#*£¥^ each other. Nope not natural.”
Oh really?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals
Right. The picture on that article sums it up nicely. But there are at least 1500 species which exhibit homosexual behavior- from lions to dogs to penguins to dolphins to elephants- in the form of not only sexual acts, but also same-sex parenting. Other parts of the natural world are ‘Born This Way’ too. It’s natural! Deal with it.
@bobthebuilder—-I suggest you do a bit of homework, nothing in the bible can be proven as fact and there is no scripture in the bible, the only scripture is in the walls of Ethiopia,Kemet Egypt and in Asia. The bible was used as a tool to control the masses and there are far too many inaccuriacies in the bible which only distracts us from the truth of our existence and from where we originated from as a people. The Greeks and Romans all failed to understand the sripts on the walls and decided to come up with a Jesus concept in he form of “serapas”. Michael Angelo later was commissioned to paint a picture of jesus and did so in his own image and those of his family and friends,. Jesus never came to die for anyones sins we are all responsible for our own actions through the laws of Karma.After the Jesus concept was created it was further symbolized through the hangings of slaves from a tree. As the years progress the bible continues to be edited, it was recently done so by the pope,,( the Gideons totally disregard the “old testament “because it is African and the “new testament “is not, which is why since the inception of “Jesus” there has been continual war and bloodshed!). The words “pagan” and heathen were created by the romans because they did not understand the heiroglyphics, and did not want to worship the “Women” the creators of Life, which is why there are missing books of the true Papyrus text…——-now bob start building your own temple!to study.
Sorry Bob, but I’ve been to Israel. I’ve seen the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’ve walked every where the bible records as the history of the Jewish people. I also witnessed how the Catholics, Anglicans, Muslims, and others try to make themselves relevant in the Holy Lands. Sometimes fighting to fit in a little place of history.
If you believe the bible as the word of God, then there is much that is wrong in our society. It’s our acceptance of these (anti-God)things that tear us apart. We all were taught right from wrong. Some hold fast to truth, others choose to believe the lies. We all call on the Lord in times of trouble, or distress. Why not trust His way with our lives? Mr. Bean believes the truth about God in an age where immortality is rampant. Our leaders should all stand by their convictions rather then become yes men or puppets.
The fact is that at best the PLP record on the rights of minorities (whites, gays, Jews, etc) has always been indifferent and dictated by expedience – and around election time they have always jacked up the hate message by a decibel or two, which many suspect (I believe rightly) is the true agenda of the leadership.
heck I’ll rent my condo to a Gay and his BF cuz my current tenant is a loser ;-(
People need to understand that there is a difference between the homosexual act and being gay. There are gays who have never had sex but they know their own feelings. Being Gay is not a choice peole are born that way. Having sex any sex is always a choice for everybody.
The real problem with discrimination based on sexual orientation is proving it as once there is legal protection people will just be more careful and not discrimate openly and the problem will still be here.We can make any law you want, but having racial discrimination made illegal has not eliminated it.
Despite whats been said a HUMAN BEING IS A HUMAN BEING and
most of a human beings actions will be Judged by God .
Most evil done on earth is starts from how we feel and judge each other.
Marc Bean we love you !! Your not perfect neither are any of us , but the principal you are standing for will be rewarded bye all conscious minded people long after politics .. God almighty will bless ya soul cause you haven’t wavered from truth for money or power .. Please continue to give us what is good for us as a people !
People, there is NO ‘God’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Allow science into your lives and all will be revealed!!! The truth is out there!!
Lol your first sentence really isn’t the way to go about it. Even if you had solid evidence, you would be destroying something that many people believe in and the human concience won’t allow that. Belief is a powerful thing. You and I could burn 1000 bibles and they would say their god is gracious and merciful towards us if we still stood after. Whether or not they like it, the human race is evolving, we’re getting smarter and more people are starting to see the lies. This in turn will create more lies and the process will continue. People need to see what they can accomplish through themselves, but for anyone trying to retain control over a population, that is a very dangerous thing. We know so much about so many things, but we don’t even understand ourselves. Sometimes its just easier to believe in the sky pilot.
Seems every opinionon this blog is a fairy tale.
….but it’s the religous ones that are hard to understand.
Can we add paedophiles and beastiality to the list of LGBTQ list also as I am sure they are born that way too, Cause I know people that just woke up and realized that hey I want to have sex with fido because they feel that they are a dog trapped in a mans body. I mean why look at these people as deviants because wether your having anal sex with a woman or a man or whatever the whole act is unhealthy but I guess because people are so filled with lust that any act becomes ok. Dont confuse love with lust. Thats why nowadays you even have cartoons with these alternative lifesytles to make children immune to the realities of this behaviour and want to put it under some guise of some bullcrap genetic predisposition. So if that is the case open up the floodgates and let all people with genetic predispositions have their rights of having sex with a dog, child and god know what and see how far society gets then. Thats why so many young girls are turning to lesbianism because hey let me try it before I get married, I am still young and I am so in love with her. My question to the so called LGBQTXYZ is where does it end????
You’ve spoken the truth! My only advice would be to leave pedophiles out because children cannot consent to sex which makes it a different crime and the child is being harmed and they gay community will always point that out even though they too are harming themselves with gay sex/relationships. Stick with bestiality and incest between adults because the gays have absolutely no intelligible response to this and do not want equal rights for people having incest sex or sex with fido. There are people who have had surgery because they believe they are a cat or dog born in a human body. So all the lgbtq community if “two words and a comma” includes these groups or excludes them and why. They’ll never give you an answer and then you’ll see their bigotry
So the Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda wait over six months to push this issue? If it was something that truly bothered them then don’t you think they would of reacted earlier? Sounds like grandstanding by controversy on the grounds that this man is now further in the public eye. All this on the grounds that Mr.Bean believes that a landlord has the right to not rent out his property to someone on the grounds of certain behavior that potential tenant may partake in on the landlords property isn’t condoned by said landlord? So you saying that the right of the gay potential tenant should prevail over the rights of the landlord? If said landlord has young children that he is trying to raise in a certain manner & wishes to not expose his children to such a life style then it’s his rights to keep that lifestyle as far away from that of his children as best he can.
People are people gay, straight, black, white you people are so ridiculous but one day when the tables turn on your everything you have said against others will be refreshed in your minds.
Back in my single days I used to rent a certain guest house for the night when I would hook up with women. The owner of the guest house caught on as to what I was using her property for & even though this was consensual heterosexual activity between two adults (made sure not to be disrespectful by being loud or obvious with my activities) the owner said she would no longer rent the property to me. I respected her wishes for her being the owner of the property & I feel she had the right to say what activity she would & wouldn’t accept on her property.
@BobtheBuilder… When interpreting the Bible, one must take a number of things into context.
It is highly unlikely that we in our modern world come close to understand the culture and context in which the words were written. Point in case, while we in the modern world believe that a virgin means someone who hasn’t had sex, there are many scholars who believe that at the time the text was written the term used actually meant unmarried.
There are also differing opinions when it comes to the exact translation from the original language.
Then when you choose a particular translation, you then must interpret the contents.
If you choose to take it word for word, then you have to sort through the contradictions, ie turn the other cheek and an eye for an eye.
If you choose to interpret the meaning, then you’re subject to different interpretations with different people and there is no consistency.
Then there’s the whole thing about do we follow all we read in the bible, or only parts of it. Here’s where you could get into a discussion about the right to own slaves, adulterers being stoned and for rapists to marry their victims.
My point here is it’s very hard to come to a consensus of opinion based upon the Bible and that over the years Christians, as a whole, have modified their take on its content and meaning dependent upon the changing mindset of the times.
I don’t have a problem with people who have come to a set of beliefs based on their interpretation of the Bible, but I do have a problem with people who find it necessary to impose their interpretation upon others by force.
It wasn’t that long ago that two men were caught on Front Street in public doing their thing. A good while ago two men were taken to hospital cause they were stuck together. The community (as a whole)can handle certain things, but the major things cause us to be stained with embarrassment. How do I explain to my peers that an ambulance had to come to my house to assist a gay couple out of a strange perDICKerment? Who cares about what the world thinks, we need to focus on our house and keeping our house in order. I have heard stories of the orgies that take place here in Bermuda. But they are stories. Why the push to make the hidden practices open for all to see. THE THINGS WE DO AND DECIDE TODAY, CREATES OUR TOMORROW. Personally, I like to perform acts on my pet lizard and frog in my own home, can you amend the law so I won’t feel so bad.
Those who claim to be ‘born this way’, are correct. When they jump out of the closet and are totally in agreement with the gay way…….then that is being born again. Also, many people were born into the drug culture. It’s the only life they know. They either stay with it or grow out of it. Someone born rich does not know poverty. Someone white does not know the black struggle. Unless somewhere along the way, someone comes along and introduces the ‘new way’, people often remain how they were born believing. Don’t fight for the acceptance of the leaves, try to get to the root of the problem and fix the ailment.
“Don’t fight for the acceptance of the leaves, try to get to the root of the problem and fix the ailment.”
….seems like the perfect approach for religions.
And they all lived happily ever after.
It amazes me how widespread ignorance is in Bermuda.
The fact that people in this day and age actually still believe that sexuality is a choice would be laughable were it not so sad.
Idiots like “100%” or “bobthebuilder” “unjussaying” and others are just ignorant. They may hide behind religion to justify their hatred, or they may have learned their hatred FROM a religious leader, but regardless of the source, they are guilty of the same ignorance and hatred that is demonstrated in racism, sexism, or discrimination against religious or ethnic groups of all types everywhere. Same as the Nazis. SAME. EXACT. THING.
I’m sure they believe otherwise. They are wrong.
Calling people idiots and ignorant only reveals your own hatred and intolerance for other views. Like it or not people are opposed to homosexual acts just like incest and bestiality. Please tell us if you are for or against bestiality and incest and if you are against it then you must be ignorant, hatred, bias and an idiot to right?
Saying that homosexuality is like bestiality and incest demonstrates how ignorant you are (if your atrocious grammar wasn’t a clue).
I am intolerant of intolerance. Explain to everyone how, exactly, “homosexual acts” causes you harm or impacts you in any way, which would give you the standing to oppose it. Unless you participate in such acts, or routinely view such acts, you have no business taking a position on it as it does not effect you in any way shape or form.
The bible is a fairy tale and those who use to to justify their biggoted beliefs are weak.
Can anyone with a brian really think that an all knowing and all powerful god when given rules down to us thouseands of years ago did nto think to mention, oh I dont know:
What viruses are and how to prevent illness?
That there where different continents with different cultures and people liviging there? Not just the middle east and Europe exised?
That the earth is actually a planet in a solar system of which there are billions of stars and trillions of plants?
That the earth was round and why the sunrises in the east? I could go on and on!
No instead he tells us that a man can make loads of fish from one fish as a miracle. Heres a better mircle – cure all the people that were dying of diseaese at the time?! No God would apparently rather tell us it is ok to stone people to death for adultery.
The bible was not and is not the word of god. It was written by people thousands of years ago in order to try and control populations and live to a certain code. Whether you beleive in an almighty god is a different story, but he’s not in the bible and the rules and ideas are not longer applicable to 2013.
People like throwing the bible into the mix when it comes to gays but there are so many other ‘SINS’ going on that people overlook to justify for themselves…. #Ridiculous
As long as people gay or straight are not having sex in public places what is the problem….
This subject is going to be touchy for alot of people, but really no one should judge anyone point blank and regardless if someone is gay or straight they should be treated as a human.
Some interesting comments here but this really is no longer a PLP issue so this whole discussion is misguided at best. PLP is finished, gone, powerless, in the past, irrelevant.
Any issues should be lodged with the ruling Government. Speaking with the now completely defuct and ineffective PLP is a waste of effort for all concerned whether you are for or against gay rights.
What the PLP or their leader thinks is of no importance whatsoever. They are no longer in power – they are finished.
Since PLP can’t equate this problem to race (since both blacks and whites could be gay) there is no frame of reference for the PLP to latch race to the argument. You can’t blame homosexuality on whites – so basically PLP has, and will have nothing to contribute to the issue.
Having just read through the bulk of the above posts, I must say the level of ignorance on this subject reminds me OF the crazy Republicans who said that womens bodies were built to disable pregmancy if it was from a legitimate rape…
If Bermuda is to move forward we need to become a much more tollerant society. One that embraces our differences. Unless you are God, you don’t know whether people are borm gay or not, and I think if we were all honest with ourselves it is liekly that there are both those that are born this way and those that choose this lifestyle. Nevertheless, A landlord needs to have the right to refuse a tenant, if they are unruly, untidy, disrespect landlords property, fail to pay rent etc, regardless of whether the tenant is male, female, gay, black white, old, young – of course the landlord may have a preference for a rich, white married couple – and during the application process they will exercise their preference – that’s human and you can’t stop it. I would like to think that this is the basis of Mark Bean’s comment. The Rainbow Alliance needs to accept that no legislation can prevent an individual from applyiing their personal preferences to their decision making process – with all else being equal. This said – the Human Rights Act, should include all forms of discrimination, including that of sexual orientation. The hard part then is applying teeth to that legislation without taking away an individuals personal right to their preferences. The Human Rights Act, is only ever going to be effective at ensuring equal rights in the Public arena, (ie. when it relates to the actions of Companies, Gov’t Agencies and other public organizations).
Rainbows, being happy ,scissors, mowing grass, sword fighting, has nothing to do with someone being a homosexual…..will you Sodomites please stop stealing these words
Being “gay” was stolen too and I don’t see the point in calling ourselves “hetero”sexuals. Sex is between a man and a woman with different genitals and anything else is sexual deviance.
So the Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda wait over six months to push this issue? If it was something that truly bothered them then don’t you think they would of reacted earlier? Sounds like grandstanding by controversy on the grounds that this man is now further in the public eye. All this on the grounds that Mr.Bean believes that a landlord has the right to not rent out his property to someone on the grounds of certain behavior that potential tenant may partake in on the landlords property isn’t condoned by said landlord? So you saying that the right of the gay potential tenant should prevail over the rights of the landlord? If said landlord has young children that he is trying to raise in a certain manner & wishes to not expose his children to such a life style then it’s his rights to keep that lifestyle as far away from that of his children as best he can.
We have rental properties. I can honestly say that I really don’t care what happens in them as long as the rent is paid. If I had someone living in an apartment that was connected to our family dwelling, that would be a different story.
I can’t believe that I am agreeing with Marc Bean, but you should have a right to chose who is in direct contact with your family at your home. We’ve watched friends rent out their downstairs apartment to people who have made them uncomfortable (not gay – just not nice) and have seen how unhappy they have been.
Nobody has the right to make you uncomfortable in your own house.
The one thing that I will say is that you might be surprised by your gay tenants and end up liking them….unfortunately people in Bermuda are way too judgemental and won’t give others a chance. SOB
I guess we are free to think whatever we want and say whatever we want, unless we dont like gays trannies, lesbos or whatever…. classic crap from a group who wants special considerations.
I dont like tranvestites… does that mean my opinion is not worthy of mention?
I would bet the majority of people dont like the behavior of this group, they dont advocate for prison, or discrimination, but they sure as hell dont have to approve if behavior they dont alike or be called “phobs”…
Didn’t it ever occur to you that when The Bible says “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue. That is the reason why in Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” That’s was just for that time period in order to populate the Earth. We are now supposed to be living in the New Testament. Just a thought.
Or be advanced enough to no longer rely on fairy tales.
Everyone has the right to complain to the Authority’s if they feel, and if it can be proven that they have been discriminated against in a accordance to the law of the land. Whether their gay, straight, black, white, red or yellow.
John 8.7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.
Let me finish that for you.
He that who without sin among you, let him first cast a stone. Then he told the woman go and “SIN NO MORE”. Because others are with sin that does not mean it’s okay to continue in your sin.
A.G Pettingill said publicly on VSB last night that this Human Rights issue was happening…a balanced, sensible, fair and intelligent man…it looks like we have a Government that is going to make things happen! Hopefully the PLP can learn something from a group qualified to do the job!
OBA cannot make my choice for who I decide to rent my apartments too. They will have 0 impact on this. I guess I balanced your fact.