Do you remember the uproar when on February 1st 1998 the Cayman Islands Government refused to let a cruise ship full of gay vacationers dock here that touched off calls for a boycott of the islands?

In a letter to Norwegian Cruise Line that was operating the cruise chartered by Atlantis and offered by the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, Cayman Islands then tourism minister Thomas C. Jefferson wrote: “Careful research and prior experience has led us to conclude that we cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of appropriate behavior expected of visitors to the Cayman Islands, so we regrettably cannot offer our hospitality.”

When the same charter group Atlantis tried again to land another group of gay travellers here in January 2010 they were successful although it provoked much concern especially from the Cayman Ministers Association (CMA).

“The CMA does not support the permission for a gay cruise to come to our shores. Our motto is He hath founded it upon the seas’ and believe that should still direct our decisions,” said Bob Thompson who was then chairman.

Since then though we have had a number of cruise ships carrying Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Transgender (LGBT), the most recent being last October.

There was total silence about it.

Did anyone even know it arrived?

Did anyone notice any un-appropriate behaviour?

With same-sex marriages being allowed legally almost ad nauseam now in the USA the total silence by our government and church ministers has been deafening.

Now we have had a debate organised by students at the Truman Bodden Law School that finished last week on the subject of homophobia and discrimination in the Cayman Islands.

One of the last speakers, Leonardo Raznovich, said the students of the college had begun an important debate in the territory.

He urged LGBT community to educate people and raise awareness of their issues.

He also said, “This is nothing against religion. There is room for everybody in the Cayman Islands. Cayman is not a theocracy. This is about equality and freedom.”
“Come out – those who love you will support you,” he added. “Lobby the government, write to your MLA, organize in the community, go to court where the rule of law is being breached.”

Currently here there are no laws preventing discrimination against homosexuals.

And what has the response been by the government and the CMA?

Shhhh!