With all of the hoopla over same sex marriages, this was the last thing the gay community needed to read about. Even as a hetero, I think this story is a bunch of garbage, but I guess when you're on international waters, you're kind of at the mercy of another government. Let me tell you what happened, and you tell me what you think about this whole mess.
So, two California men on a gay cruise of the Caribbean were arrested on Wednesday in Dominica, where sex between two men is illegal. Here's what I don't get, though; why would a gay cruise port at a destination where it's illegal for two men to have sex? Does that make any sense whatsoever? It sounds to me these two might have a case against the cruise line. Anyway, police boarded the cruise ship and arrested the two men on suspicion of indecent exposure and I quote, "buggery," a term often used on the island to describe sodomy. Though, other news sources released the names of the two men, I'll spare these guys the embarrassment. According to police, the men were seen having sex on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship by someone on the dock. I still don't get it! This was a gay cruise, right? Why are other gays reporting that they saw two men having sex on a gay cruise? What is wrong with people? Maybe this was the act of a jealous ex-lover? At any rate, both men were later charged with indecent exposure and are scheduled to appear before a magistrate Thursday morning, but if found guilty, they could fined $370 each and face up to six months in jail.
The ship carrying about 2000 passengers departed from Puerto Rico on Saturday and arrived in Dominica on Wednesday. The ship departed for St. Barts without the men, who are being held in a cell at police headquarters in the capital of Roseau. The cruise was organized by Atlantis Events, a Southern California company that specializes in gay travel. I think these guys should be held liable for the two men being in jail. Before sending a "gay" cruise to a destination that doesn't allow gay sex, maybe you should learn the laws of the land! This is so dumb!
Atlantis Events President, Rich Campbell, who was aboard the cruise, stated that many countries and municipalities that gay men visit and live in have antiquated laws on their books and that those statutes don't pose a concern to his company planning a tourist visit. He also went on to say that the two men would probably be released facing only misdemeanor charges. “Only”? Did they really need to face any charges at all? Gay aside, many people pay a lot of money in this economy to go on vacation and enjoy themselves. The last thing that anyone wants to do while they're on vacation is go to jail, and the fact that these two men paid Campbell's company a lot of money to be on this gay cruise and he's being so nonchalant about it, tells me this guy is just a plain idiot! The only thing that I do agree with about this is that these men should not have been having sex in public. Even a straight couple wouldn't do that in broad daylight! Well, maybe....
Anyway, the presence of gay cruises in the Caribbean has riled up several conservative islands including Jamaica and Grenada, where anti-sodomy laws are enforced with strong backing from religious groups. According to Cruisemates.com, no gay cruise lines sail to Jamaica or Barbados for fear of homophobia and possible violence, where places like the U.S. Virgin Islands welcome gay cruises. In 2010, the Cayman Islands rejected the arrival of an Atlantis gay cruise amid protests from religious groups even though homosexuality is legal on the archipelago.
Were these guys rightly arrested? Or should it have been the Atlantis Events planners who planned their trip better? What do you think? Who should take the blame here?
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