So says Bernadette Lambert, the attorney for the two gay men who were arrested on Wednesday for having sex in full view of people on land in Dominca - a country with a law prohibiting sex between two men, according to the AP.
Booze and beauty (booty?) – whatcha gonna do?
Instinct Magazine posted a statement released by Rich Campbell, the president of Atlantis Events, the gay travel company whose ship was the scene of the alleged jolly rogering, saying that John Robert Hart, 41 and Dennis Jay Mayer, 43 of Palm Springs were “engaged in a sexual act,” though the Dominica News Online quotes Hart as saying “We were naked on the balcony but we were not having sex.”
The two men were initially arrested for “buggery” says the International Business Times but ultimately plead guilty to indecent exposure, apologized “humbly to the people of Dominica,” and were fined nearly $900 by Chief Magistrate Evaline Baptiste who called them “rouges and vagabonds,” a phrase sure to get them teased by their circle of friends. IBT says that the buggery charges were dropped because they would have taken “too long to expedite.” The pair were released on Thursday.
So all’s well that ends with everyone going home safe and happy, if $900 down, but initial reports of the incident sparked alarm and outrage. Campbell said in another AP report that it was not the couple’s sexual orientation but their public sexual activity that was the problem.
Maybe, but the question remains: why would a gay cruise line travel to countries where sex between two men is illegal? “Gay Caribbean cruises have been popular for several years despite hostility to homosexuality on certain islands, especially in Jamaica, Barbados and the Cayman Islands,” says the AP.
The IBT also reports “Gay cruises have had trouble in several Caribbean destinations including Jamaica and Grenada where anti-sodomy laws are strictly enforced and have strong backing from religious groups. In 2010, the Cayman Islands made headlines when it rejected the arrival of an Atlantis gay cruise after protests from local religious groups despite the fact that homosexuality is legal on the archipelago.”
If you’re traveling and want the skinny on the attitude of your foreign location GaysOnTour.com provides a color-coded list of countries according to gay friendliness, with green being the most friendly and red the least. It’s not quite comprehensive – Dominica isn’t listed – but you can ask your travel agent, or research a specific country online if you have concerns and you’re traveling internationally. It never hurts to go online and do a little research before you book. You can see more of the world and do it safely and happily.
Just don’t let the world see too much of you, no matter how inspired you are by the mountains and margaritas. $900 is one helluva caution-to-the-wind fee.
Booze and beauty (booty?) – whatcha gonna do?
Instinct Magazine posted a statement released by Rich Campbell, the president of Atlantis Events, the gay travel company whose ship was the scene of the alleged jolly rogering, saying that John Robert Hart, 41 and Dennis Jay Mayer, 43 of Palm Springs were “engaged in a sexual act,” though the Dominica News Online quotes Hart as saying “We were naked on the balcony but we were not having sex.”
The two men were initially arrested for “buggery” says the International Business Times but ultimately plead guilty to indecent exposure, apologized “humbly to the people of Dominica,” and were fined nearly $900 by Chief Magistrate Evaline Baptiste who called them “rouges and vagabonds,” a phrase sure to get them teased by their circle of friends. IBT says that the buggery charges were dropped because they would have taken “too long to expedite.” The pair were released on Thursday.
So all’s well that ends with everyone going home safe and happy, if $900 down, but initial reports of the incident sparked alarm and outrage. Campbell said in another AP report that it was not the couple’s sexual orientation but their public sexual activity that was the problem.
Maybe, but the question remains: why would a gay cruise line travel to countries where sex between two men is illegal? “Gay Caribbean cruises have been popular for several years despite hostility to homosexuality on certain islands, especially in Jamaica, Barbados and the Cayman Islands,” says the AP.
The IBT also reports “Gay cruises have had trouble in several Caribbean destinations including Jamaica and Grenada where anti-sodomy laws are strictly enforced and have strong backing from religious groups. In 2010, the Cayman Islands made headlines when it rejected the arrival of an Atlantis gay cruise after protests from local religious groups despite the fact that homosexuality is legal on the archipelago.”
If you’re traveling and want the skinny on the attitude of your foreign location GaysOnTour.com provides a color-coded list of countries according to gay friendliness, with green being the most friendly and red the least. It’s not quite comprehensive – Dominica isn’t listed – but you can ask your travel agent, or research a specific country online if you have concerns and you’re traveling internationally. It never hurts to go online and do a little research before you book. You can see more of the world and do it safely and happily.
Just don’t let the world see too much of you, no matter how inspired you are by the mountains and margaritas. $900 is one helluva caution-to-the-wind fee.
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