Gays with a Caribbean Craze

October 20, 2008 • By Tiffani Knowles

They are free spirits with fat bank accounts of disposable cash for getting their
annual tans on the beaches of St. Vincent, “jammin” to Bob Marley tunes in
Jamaican nightclubs and leaving $50 tips for the local hair braiders in the Bahamas.
Believe it or not. Gays love the Caribbean.

But, is this love unrequited, due to the stringent Christian values professed by many a Caribbean nation? Take Apple, Inc.’s
decision this April to remove songs from Jamaican dancehall artists Buju Banton,
T.O.K. and Elephant Man from their iTunes site. They claimed many of their songs
incite violence against homosexuals. Or reggae artist Beenie Man’s loss of
endorsement deals after creating songs with homo-phobic lyrics like, "Hang chi chi
gal wid a long piece of rope."

With issues like civil rights, economics and good ole island hospitality bearing down on them, it has become difficult for Caribbean
islands to maintain a hard and fast stance on the issue. Last March, gay comedienne Rosie O’Donnell settled for the Cabo San
Lucas, Mexico destination for her 5th annual R Family gay cruise after several run-ins with a few Caribbean islands in years prior. In
2005, the Bermuda stop on Rosie’s cruise had to be replaced with Port Canaveral and Key West, Florida at the last minute. United by
Faith, an 80-church organization in Bermuda, called the cruise’s cancellation "a victory for God” after having prayed fervently for the
cruise to be detoured. This was one year after the cruise’s maiden sail was met by 100 dockside protesters in Nassau, Bahamas. The
protest march was led by local Christian pastors, who claimed, "Gay Ways Are Not God's Ways."

To combat the flack their countries have received, in recent years both Ministers of Tourism from Bermuda and The Bahamas have
issued statements of clarification on their policy on gay tourists, deciding in favor of a gay’s right to travel to their countries. “The
future of The Bahamas will [not] be placed in danger because chartered cruises by gay persons are permitted to continue to call at
Bahamian ports,” said Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, prime minister of the Bahamas. “The future of The Bahamas is not threatened by
foreign persons of homosexual orientation. [It] is not a contagious disease; and it is not a crime in The Bahamas.” Some would agree
that while these officials’ statements may appear to be tactics of appeasing, it is ridiculous to see how any head of state can send the
message that a member of the human race is not welcome in their country, to dine in their restaurants, to share their culture or
attend their churches. Shall they also bar the adulterer, the fornicator and the blasphemer while they’re at it?