Gay Couple Arrested On Gay Cruise Speak Out

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Dennis Mayer (left) and John Hart.
There have been very different reactions to this story based on the information that has been available.  There were the initial story reporting, where all we heard was "gay couple arrested for having sex on cabin balcony".  Now we know that is not accurate and, yes, a homophobic country may have overreacted because these were 2 men.  Let's see what other information presents itself.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Southern Californian said Friday that he and his partner were taunted, humiliated and subjected to inhumane treatment when they were arrested and jailed after being escorted off a gay cruise in the Caribbean this week.
Dennis Jay Mayer, 53, told The Associated Press that he has no doubt they were arrested in Dominica because they were gay. Police said it was because they were seen having sex in public on the balcony of their ship cabin. He said they were not having sex, but were "partially clothed."
Mayer, a retired deputy sheriff, spoke to the AP in San Juan, where he and his partner of 17 years, John Robert Hart, arrived after being released following their guilty plea to indecent exposure.
"The total experience was horrendous," he said. "They told us that they did not like us, that they did not like gay people."
Dominica is among several Caribbean islands that have laws prohibiting sex between men.
The trouble began shortly after the cruise ship Celebrity Summit docked Wednesday morning at Dominica in the eastern Caribbean. Mayer and Hart were in their room when they got a call from a cruise ship official.
"We were summoned that the captain wished to speak to us," Mayer said. "We were caught off guard."
Three cruise ship officials and six Dominica police officers were waiting for them. After police interviewed both men separately, the assistant captain spoke, Mayer said.
"At this time, we are going to eject you from the ship. We have zero tolerance toward your behavior," Mayer recalled him saying.


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