As my two buddies over at Best Gay Travel Guide would tell you when traveling to other countries you need to make yourself aware of what goes and what is taboo when it comes to sodomy laws.Two men from California are learning that the hard way as GayStarNews is reporting using several sources. The two men were arrested Wednesday after being seen by someone from the dock where the ship they were on, a Celebrity Summit cruise ship, was docked and the individual alleges the two men were engaged in sex.
John Robert Hart and Dennis Jay Mayer both in their 40's were arrested on the ship by local authorities and will appear in court today on charges of suspicion of indecent exposure and sodomy. The ship had been docked in the Caribbean country of Dominica which outlaws sex among gays.
The cruise which had been organized by the gay travel company Atlantis Events in West Hollywood, CA warns all travelers of potential sodomy laws which are in effect in the various countries their planned cruises take travelers.
The penalty in Dominica for same-sex sexual activity is up to 10 years in prison.
In an update from one of the sources GayStarNews used in doing their article, Dominican News Online, the website reported the charge of "buggery" (sodomy) would be dropped and they had been charged with indecent exposure. The sodomy charge was dropped because as Police Chief Cyrille Carrette told the website Wednesday evening, that charge will take too long to expedite, hence the men will only be charged with indecent exposure.
The ship sailed on without the two men to continue the scheduled cruise.
If found guilty of the indecent exposure charge they could be fined $370 each and could face up to six months in prison according to a report by the Associated Press via The Washington Post.
In the latest update the two men pleaded guilty this morning to the charge of indecent exposure and were fined about $900 and were expected to be released today.
One final note on this topic as now an interview with Hart and Mayer has become available as of Friday 3/23/12 (video may be pulled at some point for copyright infringement) and this is my opine but also shared by others who have sent me email or other comments I have seen, these two gents really can't play the anti-gay card (even as others are doing in support) as they knew the "rules" of the country they were visiting and being on board a ship does not fore go those rules as the ship they are on sits in the water of Dominica. Whether they were engaged in sexual activity or just standing butt naked for all to see on the dock is, in my less than humble opinion, just dumbass stupid given the potential consequences.
The interview is from KTLA-TV. Queerty has "exclusive interview" with eyewitness.
