Hundreds of anti-gays marched through downtown Nassau, Bahamas, March 8 following false reports that the visiting cruise ship Veendam was carrying homosexuals.

"We obviously do not check on lifestyles of the passengers, but the ship is not chartered to a group that is comprised primarily of homosexual individuals," Larry Dessler, a spokesman for Carnival's Holland America Line, told Reuters.

Marching under the banner "Save the Bahamas," the protesters demanded new laws banning gay sex, gay venues, gays in government and "open sodomites" -- and declared May 8 a "national day of repentance."

Homophobia has come out of the closet in the Caribbean this year. In January, the Cayman Islands denied docking privileges to a cruise ship carrying 900 U.S. gays, explaining, "We cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of appropriate behavior expected of visitors." The same cruise was due to stop in the Bahamas later in its voyage and protesters took to the streets of Nassau even as the ship was turned away by stormy weather. Partially in response to the Cayman's incident, Britain ordered its Caribbean Dependent Territories to legalize gay sex so the United Kingdom will not be in violation of its international human-rights agreements. This sparked further outrage on Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks & Caicos Islands, including among some high-ranking officials. Anguilla head minister Hubert Hughes informed London, "Even though we are dependent on British aid, we will not, definitely, compromise our principles when it comes to Christianity." Montserrat chief minister David Brandt said: "No politician could vote for such a law [allowing homosexuality]. There will be protests everywhere on this island and in other dependent territories [if Britain imposes the change]."

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, on the other hand, is "chilled by the vehemence of [the anti-gays'] expressions."

"There have been expressions of reason and understanding on this matter on the editorial pages, but these have been largely lost in a sea of bitter, poorly reasoned diatribe," Ingraham said last week at a specially called press conference. "[The Bahamas] does not condemn or exclude persons who reveal themselves to be homosexual."

AUSSIE CLUBS ALLOWED TO BAN WOMEN

Two gay venues in Melbourne, Australia, have been granted exemptions to the state Equal Opportunity Act so they can ban women.

Anti-Discrimination Tribunal Deputy President John Wolters agreed with petitioners that letting women into the Club 80 sex club and the Laird Hotel bar would oppress gay-male patrons, who, he said, need spaces of their own.

The decision was denounced by the Women's Action Alliance.

"We would feel it's important to rid the community of all forms of discrimination and that includes segregating groups in the community for whatever reason," said President Karin Abrams.

Contributing to this week's report: Ron Bell, Jess Durfee, Mike Friedman, John Hein, Mathew Jones, Kent Sproule.

Rex Wockner's weekly international news reports dating back to May 1994 can be searched at http://www.wockner.com. The reports in their original form are archived at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/wockner.html, which also archives Wockner's Quote Unquote column and some of his longer gay-press articles.