BY VANESSA C. ROLLE,Guardian Staff Reporter

Do homosexuals have the same right as regular tourists to spend their vacation in The Bahamas? And do homosexuals living in the country have a right to push their views on society? These were some of the questions being addressed by veteran journalist P. Anthony White and Cable Bahamas' Dr. Keith Wisdom on 102.9 Island Fm's radio talk show "Parliament Street" on Sunday.

The show's co-host, attorney Fayne Thompson, noted that there appears to be a section of society that is on a campaign to turn such visitors away from The Bahamas because of their lifestyles. He questioned how, in the context of freedom of speech, does one deal with the intractable difference between those foreigners who feel free to live such a lifestyle and those who feel that fundamentally, such a lifestyle is wrong.

Mr White responded that such freedom of speech did not have much to do with tourists, but with local persons who have been exercising the freedom of speech to protest against it. "You have to be very careful. You certainly have to protect the people's right to protest and to speak out as they want against something they support or they are against. However, you have to be careful, when you do that, that you do not infringe on another kind of freedom - by the freedom of these people to engage in their own lifestyles as they obey all the laws of public decency among other people," he said.

Mr White said that, fortunately, the Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe, who also has responsibility for broadcasting, should be admired for the way he handled the situation thus far. For he talked about the freedom of various groups to protest but also about the same democracy which gives tourists a certain kind of freedom also. "He has had to do a kind of careful balancing act here," Mr White said.

Mr Thompson noted that the religious community had gotten so involved in the protests against the gay cruise that they had been protesting near the harbour where the boats come in, but there had been no protests at the airport where flights came in, and not public protests against the persons who lived here and had chosen this lifestyle, either.

Further, such religious ministers singled out a Parliamentarian as "single and 51," which has no bearing on the fight for which they say they are standing for. Mr Thompson questioned whether this was a responsible exercise of freedom of speech by the said ministers.

"Very frankly, I believe that ministers who are saying that, or whichever denomination, whoever is saying that kind of thing, is threatening these politicians that unless you do something about this ... whatever it is they're talking about, we have got the power and the influence in the Church to pull political support from you, and you might end up no longer being an MP in this case," Mr White said.

Mr Wisdom intervened also that in society, people become ostracized for even just speaking about homosexuality. "We have to understand that he might be, or she might be, a minister, but it rarely is, in its most basic form, a person who is decided, who is saying, if you don't do what I feel and I believe, I am going to do this. They have the right to feel passionately about the way they think life should be lived but the intelligence of the individual should automatically, along with that passion, tell them I have got to hear and respect this other side," he said.